Baby Blues
by The Kaiser Marcus
Summary: Raven's room isn't a place to tread in lightly, so what happens when one goes there, and causes general mayhem? No romantic shipping, this is comedy driven.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:I do not own any of the Teen Titans characters, or settings in this story. All Teen Titan properties are owned by DC.**

**Baby Blues**

**Chapter 1**

It was a quiet morning in the city which held it's very safety in debt to five amazingly powerful teens, who took up residence in a giant "T"-shaped tower. The skies were blue, giant, puffy clouds floated harmlessly in the former. Even the occasional boat sailed through the harbor, underneath the large, stretching, suspension bridge that connected the two halfs of the city. While these things were just a part of daily life for the citizens of the city, it wasn't too doubtful to say that at least _some_ of them chalked it all up to the protection from those five teenagers, who always bravely fought against their super-powered villians with concern for the people(Though not always their property...).

But, despite such powers that the teens exhibited, they, just as any other teen, tried to live as normal lives as possible. They would luagh, play games, eat foods not always as healthy as they should be; and of course, like most of others of their age. Give into their _temptations_.

In this case, _curiosity._

"As long as she's back in the lobby..." Beastboy mumbled to himself, standing in the middle of one of the innumerable hallways that ran through the tower he and his friends lived in. In front of him on one side of the wall was a door. As most doors do, this one led into a room, but not just any room. Not a storage room for storing unwanted or currently not-used things. No, in this case, this room was a _bedroom._

And the plaque on the door read _Raven._

Beastboy tried to gulp down any other thoughts of turning back. No, he'd gotten this far with it. Leaving the lobby just as he was about to finally beat Cyborg in a racing game. Making sure there was an extra pot of tea of the stove so Raven would be stalled for more than her usual time drinking. He had even thought of ways to keep Robin and Starfire away from here, telling them the name of a cute cafe that they might want to go to today, as there were discounts for couples.

Though, it wasn't like they were going to _admit_ to the others they liked each other, much less a couple. Beastboy grinned at his friends' discomfort of discussing their feelings for each other with the others. Why, if it had been him and some other girl, he would've done it right then and there, told the whole world, even!

But then, he _was_ Beastboy, he didn't think of long-term problems caused by such.

The green Titan swallowed any saliva still caught in his throat, trying to make it as dry as possible, as if that would remove any fears of what could go wrong with going through with what he wanted to do. He placed one gloved hand on the door, and pushed it aside, the door's mechanics allowing it to slide to the side without a hitch. Beastboy tenatively took one unsure step into the room, then another.

Then, he was in it. _Raven's room_. Quite possibly the scariest place one could be in all the Tower. Beastboy had dreamed many a scary thought of what the girl empath did in here; read dusty, old books without light; spend hours practicing her latest spell to do prank Beastboy with; perhaps even going into that freaky mirror of hers and talk to herself. Whatever she _did_ do in this room, it surely wasn't his business, though he wanted to know anyway.

His footsteps echoed throughout the room softly, only mere "taps" on the floor. But it was loud enough to unnerve him, causing him to spin around on his heels, as if expecting Raven to be in the doorway, livid with anger and ready to tear him to pieces, meaning he would ha ve to abort the mission and run for his life. But no one was there, just solid air in front and behind him. He turned back, joking to himself to try to keep himself in better spirits.

"Come on, ole' Beastboy, what's the worst that could happen if she caught you in here?" Beastboy's thoughts were interrupted with ideas of just _what_ she _could_ do, Robin trying to protect Beastboy or not.

"Anyways, she's probably too drawn over that pot of tea you made, it's not like it'd be a suprise if she drank the _entire_ thing before she came up! And then she'd have to go to the bathroom, so that'd buy you even more time! See, there's nothing to worry about, nothing at all..."

Beastboy approached the main dresser, closest to Raven's bed. He looked at the objects laid out on it. Some books, a candle or two, partially melted. Nothing much of interest, in fact. Beastboy however, did spot some containers that looked suspiciously like _makeup_. But he didn't want to chance it, opening them up and possibly releasing a demon to chew on his bones out of hunger.

Then he spotted the freaky mirror Cyborg and he hda been dragged into after the Titans' first fight with Doctor Light. Back then, there had been some sort of _evil_ presence in it, some _dark_ form of Raven trapped inside. But now, with her defeating her father, _that_ shade of her was probably gone now, too weak to interfere with her daily routine. Beastboy picked up the mirror, looking into it. No strange red eyes gazed back at him even as he examined his face and few studs of hair growing off his chin.

Proud of such shows of maturity, Beastboy put the down the mirror and strolled down the main aisle more confidently. He made his way over to the bed, and looked it over. Nothing out of place to find, just an unusually-shaped bed in the fashion of her hood, with covers over it. In fact, there was nothing so far other than the makeup jars that had interested Beastboy. He was slightly disappointed in Raven, hoping for there to be at least _something_ to suprise him.

Then he spotted it.

On one edge of the bed was _something_ partially covered by the covers. Beastboy reached over and uncovered it. It was a simple leather-clad book, with a bit of blue lining on the sides. Beastboy looked at the blank cover, almost immediately becoming disinterested again. He then opened it up, and nearly through the book onto the floor, freaked out by what it contained than almost anything else had ever been able to do in his entire fifteen years of life.

He twitched a bit after throwing it away, the images still burned into his mind. But he then stopped, and realized if he didn't put the things back the way they were, Raven would suspect something had happened. And usually she didn't wait for proof.

Cautiously, Beastboy moved over to the book, picking it up by its spine. He was about to put it back under the covers when he then stopped, thinking about something.

Maybe he could just take one more look at whatever he had seen. Maybe the first go hadn't been clear, and it might not have been as bad as he had thought it to be. Slowly, but surely, Beastboy turned the book back over, so that the open pages faced up to him. He held his face away, trying at first to not look. But then, once he realized that defeated the purpose, he moved his head as slow as he could, to take another look at the picture.

What he saw shocked him.

_Babies._ An entire picture of _babies_. One side of the two pages was nothing but strangely-spelled words, and the other contained a huge portrait shrunken for the book of babies in various stages of life, from early just-born stages to several months old. After looking at it for several more seconds, Beastboy's fear was lessened greatly, though the pictures in his mind were still drawn creepy-like. Not thinking, Beastboy began to read from the page, getting up off the bed as he was doing so.

"Nim... forta... sezen..." Beastboy read aloud, not knowing what the words would do, if they would do anything at all. He was soon almost at the door, buried in the bottom of the page opposite the pictures when the door to the room swung open on another's accord.

"_Beastboy..._" Came an almost inhuman growl from the person standing in the doorway, hand still holding a cup of herbal tea. Beastboy looked up from the page while still reading the book, staring into the eyes of a completely livid Raven, veins throbbing.

"Stefa- RAVEN!" Beastboy blurted out, shocked and terrified at the same time. The girl looked ready to kill, her hand around the cup looking as if it would shatter the glass carrier in a single burst of rage. She moved towards him in one step, Beastboy swearing the ground felt like it was shaking with her every step.

"WHAT WERE YOU DOING IN MY-" Normally, Raven's speech would have been screechingly horrific, scaring Beastboy to no end. But in this case, that didn't happen, and for the same reason it caused Raven to stop, grasping at her throat.

IN fact, it caused Beastboy to crack a small nervous grin, not being able to help himself at the situation.

"My voice... WHAT DID YOU DO!" But Raven's scream again had little impact as it might have had had it been her normal voice. But it wasn't, Raven's voice suddenly sounded _smaller, younger, less-mature._ She then looked down at the book Beastboy had just read the final word from the page he had been on.

"NO!" she shrieked, trying to make a grab at it. But instead she tripped over her own cloak, now being slightly too small for it. Beastboy then looked down at the book; a small trail of sparkling dust was floating from it, and into the mess that was Raven, who had become lost in the folds of her cloak. In a few minutes of confused silence, Beastboy watched as Raven's struggles in her clothing got less and less, until, there were no more. He then bent down, afraid something had happened to the girl who's room he was invading.

He reached for a fold of the fabric, and opened it up to reveal the person inside.

He screamed.

Beastboy walked into the lobby, looking extremely shaken. The other three Titans ran up to him, worried about whatever had just happened to him. In his arms were was Raven's cloak in a bundle, with some sort of object clothed over inside it. Robin was the first to say anything.

"Beastboy, what was that scream? What happened?" Beastboy could only mumble a few expressions and jumbled-up words to his leader, still too numb to make out any correct sentences, let alone an explanation.

"Please friend Beastboy, what has happened?" Starfire was the next to question him. Beastboy turned to her, his face still wearing a shocked expression few could match.

"Star, you're good with kids, right?" he asked, sounding emotionless from the shock.

"Well, I would say I am good with children from your planet, but why?" she asked back, confused by his question even moreso than the other two young men.

"Here." Beastboy said simply, handing her the cloak bundle. He then walked off numbly to the couch, lost for thought. The other two boys, however, crowded around Starfire even as she gently moved the cloak in her arms, trying to figure out what was in it.

"Goo." A tiny, baby-like voice said through the cloth. Starfire, immediately alarmed, slowly lifted the cloth away, revealing the cloak's contents. Both of the young men next to her jumped away at the shock of the revealing, Starfire merely stood dumbfounded to no known degree, staring down at the tiny person in her arms..

At the tiny _Raven _in her arms.

**End of Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews guys. Decided to put up the next chapter for ya'. Hope you enjoy it.  
**

**Chapter Two**

Starfire continued to stare dumbfounded at the tiny infant in her arms, who likewise looked up at the much-larger Tamaranean, with wide eyes. Robin looked over her shoulder, trying to figure out what had happened. He then raised his index finger, slowly moving it in towards the baby. Robin held the outstretched finger right above the baby's head, about to touch it and see if it was really who he thought it to be. Suddenly, a tiny grey hand came out of the cloak folds, grabbing onto the finger.

Robin immediately pulled away, as if the touch by the baby was poison. Starfire looked over curiously at him even as she continued to cradle the small infant in her arms. She then turned her own head from Robin, who was breathing heavily, as if having escaped the clutches of Death itself, back to the small child. She looked into its eyes, the baby again returning a curious stare of her own. She looked like a miniature version of Raven, only a bit younger than even that. Her hair was shorter on the sides, and the chakra seemed almost _too_ big for the child's head. Her eyes were softer, and seemingly like the chakra, a bit larger than they should be for her head. Starfire moved the baby in her arms back and forth a little bit, just to see the reaction. The infant giggled appreciatively, as any young one would. Starfire's face lit up in happiness.

"You... are..." she began slowly, continuing to look at the baby with large eyes.

"_ADORABLE_!" Starfire then exclaimed, pulling the baby close to her chest in a hug. She then lowered Raven back down to her previous position, already floating off to Robin and Cyborg.

"Oh friends! Is this miniaturized version of our friend Raven not the most adorable thing you have ever seen in your years of life?" Robin nodded nervously, not wanting to challenge her opinion. Cyborg, however, was a bit more concerned than just upsetting Starfire in the current predicament. Primarily, he was more worried about Raven.

"Uhh...Star? You know that's Raven, right?" Cyborg stated to her, his voice easily showing the confusion that was thick in both of the two boy's mind. What had just happened? They had heard Beastboy scream, and then turn up with a baby that looked just like Raven? No, a baby that _was_ Raven. _What_ had happened?

"Wait... you wish to tell me that this baby is not just a baby but is indeed our friend Raven somehow shrunken back into an infant status and now seemingly stuck there for an unknown period of time with us to take care of her every need and want?" Starfire's quick assessment of the entire situation gained only meek nods from both of the others. She then smiled, hugging the baby close to her body while rocking it.

"Then that makes you even _more_ adorable!" she said, with her eyes closed. Raven giggled appreciatively of the continued-anew rocking, waving her short, little, grey arms in the air, as if seeming to try to grab it. Cyborg and Robin both cocked eyebrows at the baby's laughter, not so sure anymore that it might be Raven shrunken down... or whatever Starfire had said.

"Uhh.. Star?" Cyborg finally spoke up, stopping Starfire from playing Raven. She looked over at her teammate.

"Yes, friend Cyborg?" she asked, wondering why he would have stopped her from her activity.

"Shouldn't we sort of... be finding out _how_ Raven got turned into a _baby_?" he said empathetically. Starfire pondered on the thought for several moments, moving one of her hands up to her mouth, the other arm keeping Raven close to her body, who wiggled uncomfortably with only one arm for support.

"Perhaps.. but would you not perfer to keep friend Raven the way she is _now_?" Starfire asked smiling a huge grin, grabbing Raven under the arms and holding her out in front of the other two boys. However, she had not grabbed onto the cloak that had been clothing the babe. Her swift motion with Raven only sped up the reaction, the cloak quickly slipping away from the baby's body, landing on the floor in a neat pile. Robin and Cyborg immediately lurched away from the sight of the nude child, covering their eyes with their hands just for added measure. Starfire blushed quickly and ducked to the floor, grabbing the clothing and readministering it to baby Raven, who merely stared forward, not seeming to be at all bothered by her de-clothing. After a few seconds of shifting the cloak back onto the baby, and Starfire promising the boys it would not happen again, both Robin and Cyborg looked up warily at their friends.

"Ok, how about we find out what happened to Raven and how we can help her _after_ we get her some clothing that fits her?" Robin said, giving Starfire a slightly reapproving glare. Starfire nodded, walking up closer to him.

"Agreed, and since we have nothing of that kind present in our home at the moment, then I shall be required to go to the 'mall of shopping' to purchase such."

"Yeah, but-" Robin tried to argue, seeing where this was heading already. He tried to back away, causing Starfire to only move forward even moreso.

"Which means _you_ shall have to watch baby Raven while I go!" Starfire said cheerfully, shoving the small child into Robin's unwanting arms. Robin looked down at the baby that was his friend, who stared back up at him with a blank stare, her mouth opening and closing slowly, making small sounds. He felt a small finger jab at his stomach from under the cloak. Robin turned back to Starfire, the jabbing continuing. He tried to smile, the facial expression looking more like a twisted grin than anything else.

"We-well... she is sort of... _cute_..." Robin said through partially clenched teeth, the annoyance growing with every jab. Why in the world was Starfire leaving _him_ with Raven! What did _he_ know about taking care of babies! Granted, the others probably knew even less, but still... he could probably run down to the mall while Starfire stayed at the Tower with Raven, and gotten anything they might need for Raven. And who even knew how long this was going to last? They didn't even know it started for cripe's sake!

And there was only one person in the room who could currently answer that question. Robin craned his neck over at the green teen sitting dejectedly on the couch, flipping through channels as if nothing had happened. Starfire, however, seemed not to notice.

"Joyous!" she exclaimed, clasping her hands together and putting them next to her chin. "I shall be only a few minutes with 'the shopping', so that I may come back and properly dress friend Raven!"

Robin watched then as Starfire turned and flew off for the door leading out of the room. In only a few moments, she was already going down the hallway, impossible to catch up to. He sighed, looking back at the teammate in his arms, who's continued poking of his stomach was seriously starting to annoy him now. He moved over to the couch, with Cyborg following him close behind. His face betrayed no feeling, except for that of agitation. He quickly took a seat next to Beastboy, placing Raven next to him on the couch. Cyborg took the seat on the opposite side, boxing the changeling in. It took several seconds for Beastboy to register the two being there, being that he was seemingly glued to the televison set.

"Hey Beastboy..." Robin started, turning from Raven to him, after making sure the latter was secured in her cloak on the couch. Beastboy continued to look at the T.V., zoned in on it.

"Yo B..." Cyborg tried next, calling his friend by his nickname. It still didn't work. Beastboy was obviously trying to ignore them, perhaps even ignore the problem that now laid at their feet, well... next to them on the couch to be more specific. Robin lifted an eyebrow at the blatant ignoral. Chances were Beastboy had been doing something at the time of when whatever had happened to Raven, had "happened", and was now trying to avoid answering for it. Robin sighed and pulled out the spare remote for the T.V. he had had Cyborg build for them, just for Beastboy's personal safety should he ever get _too_ involved in the television set. The blinking out of the T.V. screen finally seemed to do the trick, Beastboy immediately swung his head to his leader.

"Hey, I was watching that!" he said, annoyed.

"Dude, you're not going to get to watch anything for a _long_ time if you don't tell us what you did to Raven." Cyborg countered back, leaning in closely to his friend, one of his large arms lying on the back of the couchhead behind Beastboy. It was a bit menacingly, to be sure.

"What makes you think I did do anything to her?" Beastboy asked slyly, trying to throw off suspicion. It wasn't working, considering that he _was_ the one who had brought Raven like this to them. Robin and Cyborg both gave him disbelieving stares.

"Beastboy, we're not going to be mad if you tell us. But we need to know what happened, in order to get Raven back." Robin said to his friend, sounding a bit desperate. Beastboy may have been a prankster, but he doubted he wasn't going to help them help Raven. He _couldn't_ be that much of a clown.

"Well..." Beastboy started off, shifting a bit in his seat. "You see, I was kinda'... wanting to see what Raven had in her room and-"

"So you went into Raven's room?" Robin asked, disbelievingly. No, he shouldn't disbelieve such, all the times Beastboy had spied on them all in different animal forms, it wasn't suprising at all anymore. But still...

"So that's why you made that extra pot of tea, to distract her? BB, you know that wasn't even fair, the girl's addicted to that stuff." Cyborg said, a bit disapprovingly, though impressed at the thought Beastboy had put into it, even if it _was_ for a negative cause.

"Well, it worked, didn't it?" Both of the other boys shook their heads sadly at this last comment. Robin was the first to pick his up however, and the first to start back up the line of questions.

"Let's not think about that right now. Beastboy, we needto know _how_ Raven turned into a... _baby_." Robin finished the sentence a bit oddly. He turned back over to look at the child on the couch who was supposed to be his friend. He _still _couldn't believe that something like _this_ could've happened, regardless of all the weird things that went on in their daily lives. This simply took the cake in his mind, demonic fathers and Brains in jars withstanding.

Well, when I was kind of Raven's bedroom, I found this book of hers, with all these weird pictures and words in it." Robin sighed, so he had found what was obviously a _spellbook._ He could already guess what had happened next.

"So I was reading from the one page, but the words were all weird, like what Raven always says when she uses her powers. And I was just at the bottom of the page when Raven came _barging_ in-"

"To _her_ room." Cyborg interrupted his friend, adding in his part. Beastboy glanced an annoyed look but continued on.

"And so like I was saying, I'm at the bottom of the page and _she_ comes and starts screaming, and I'm still reading, and I look up and go 'RAVEN!' while still reading the spell. And I guess... I sorta' _casted_ it on her..." Robin put his face in his hands, hearing the "goo's" and "gahs" coming from Raven on the couch next to him, completely unaware of her current situation. So it was just as he had feared, a _spell. _Robin, however, had a plan for such a situation.

"Beastboy, where is the spellbook that changed Raven into a... baby?"

"Uhh... back in her room?" Beastboy answered, not catching on.

"Go get it, however we're going to transform Raven back is going to be in there." Robin ordered back. Beastboy nodded and got up from the couch, leaving the lobby room quickly and running through the hallway. Robin then sighed and leaned back into the couch, wondering what to _really_ do. Sure, get the spellbook, find the the spell that overrid the original, and get back a very angry Raven who was probably going to beat Beastboy into the ground with the book. But how were they going to _read _what was in the book? Most of Raven's spell tomes weren't written a language any of them could probably understand, so how was it supposed to help them if they couldn't even tell what it read? Robin turned to look at the baby of his friend, who was now preoccupied by the shining lights in the cieling, trying to reach up fruitlessly and touch them. He couldn't help but smile a little bit, especially when he considered how Raven would take it once she found out what she had been doing as a baby thus far.

Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to tell her.

"She _is_ kinda' cute, in a little shriveled-up kind of way." Cyborg interjected. Robin looked at him strangely, who then shrugged and returned to sitting back on the couch, waiting for Beastboy to return. After several more minutes of such, the changeling finally returned, carrying the blue-lining book in his arms. He came over to the couch, plopping back down inbetween them both. He then opened the book, finding the page he had been on before. Both of the boys leaned in close, then were repelled by the images as he had before.

"UGH! Man, couldn't you have like, _warned_ us about that!" Cyborg said, turning back slowly. Robin glanced back over at baby Raven before turning back to the others, having a hard time imagining that something like that could have ever looked like it did in the book. He then forced his neck back towards making his face the page, still disturbed by it. They all then turned to the weirdly-written words on the opposite page, trying to decipher it.

"Uhh, can any of you read it?" Cyborg asked the other two, who shook their heads. Beastboy tried to trace his fingers down the lines, hoping that would help them.

"I can make the sounds of them they make... sorta'..." Cyborg reached over and took the book from Beastboy, looking at the words.

"Language doesn't match any of my readings. Far as I can tell, these words aren't from Earth." Cyborg then lowered the book slightly, his nose starting to get wrinkled. The other boys didn't notice it at first, but the horrible stench soon came to their nostrils as well. They slowly moved away from the fourth occupant of the couch, who clapped her hands together as if completing a mission of some bizarre sort.

"Uhh, dudes, you smell that?" Beastboy asked, needing not to have. They nodded, all the while continuing to slide away from the baby.

"Anyone... know how to... _change_?" Robin asked the other two, who shook their heads uncomfortably. Robin turned back to the baby on the couch, who continued to celebrate whatever she deemed to be a success.

"Man BB, this is all _your_ fault for making all that extra tea that she drank!" Cyborg yelled, already getting up to run away.

"Hehehe... how soon did Star say she was going to get back?"

**End of Chapter 2**


	3. Chapter 3

**Heh, since you guys like this FanFic so much, I decided to treat you and give you Chapter III earlier than I would usually have. Enjoy.  
**

**Chapter Three**

Starfire re-entered the room that was the lobby to the Titan's Tower, her arms burdened with bags containing various packages she had gotten from the mall of shopping. She looked around confused, the piercing cries from a baby somewhere in the room catching her hearing, but no matching baby to be seen. She walked past the breakfast table, seeing the other three boys sitting there uncomfortably. Putting down the packages where she was standing, she turned to them, smiling.

"I have returned the mall of shopping friends, with many goods that may be used to help our baby friend!" The three boy Titans looked at her warily, not sure of how to speak. Starfire then put a finger to her lips, looking around the room again.

"But I ask, where has our friend that is now a baby gone to? I cannot see her anywhere." The other three Titans looked even more unvomfortable, Cyborg and Beastboy starting to sink into their chairs. Robin, however, took charge as was expected from a leader, even if he didn't like it.

"Starfire... she's over there." he said, pointing with his index finger over to the couch where the three had been previously sitting. The boy wonder then went back to his chair and sat down, miserable. Starfire glanced at the boys curiously for a moment, but decided to go over and see whatever was the problem that was making Raven cry so loud. She floated back over to her packages, picked them up, and went over to the couch.

As soon as she was on the other side(Achieved by floating over the couch back), Starfire lied the bags back down and stooped down to pick up baby Raven. She cradled the small infant in her arms, trying to soothe her.

"please, baby Raven, whatever is the-"

Starfire's dialect stopped suddenly as she caught the whiff emitting from the small child. Her face turned sour even as she lowered the baby away from her a bit. She turned her head slightly, to look over at the boys.

"Robin..." she called out to one of them specifically. Robin looked up from his seat, nervously anticipating what was to come next.

"Uhh... yeah, Star?" he said, hoping she wasn't about to blast him.

"Please inform me now as to why you have not changed friend Raven, when she has need of such." Her question was exactly what Robin had feared. He tried to sink back into his chair, to hide himself from view.

"Well, uhh..." he said uncomfortably, the other boys already nearly falling onto the floor from sinking too much into their chairs. Starfire then sighed, no longer wanting to hear his useless answer. She shifted her arms so as to carry Raven in one of them, and leave her right arm free. With her other, now free arm, Starfire went over and grabbed the packages she had brought with her from the mall. She moved over to a spare table in the room, off in the side and away from view of the others. She lied Raven down on it, and went to "work". The other boy Titans stayed away, not wanting to see whatever was causing some of the weird noises they were now hearing.

Several minutes passed while Starfire did what was needed, occasionally reaching into the bags she had brought with her, throwing powder-causing things up in the air. At one point, she grabbed the ruined cloak that Raven had been wearing and threw it behind her, the clothing making it perfectly into the trashbasket behind her on the other side of the room. Finally, a squeal of delight was heard from their area, causing the boys to finally summon up the courage to look around the corner in the room at the sight. A triumphant Starfire stood there, turned away from the changing table. In her outstretched arms was held a happy Raven, dressed in a miniature from of her usual cloak and leotard, even down to the overhead hood shading her upper face and the tiny blue boots that Raven always wore. The boys sat confused at the spectacle even as Starfire approached them with the small child, who laughed playfully.

"Do you not think she looks adorable?" Starfire asked them, coming up to the breakfast table and sitting Raven atop it. The baby tugged at the hood of her cloak, now too preoccupied by such to look at her former teammates, who sat stunned, unable to make sense out of the situation.

"Uhh... yeah, Star. She looks... uhh... 'cute'." Cyborg said, saying something so that Starfire wouldn't hound him until he did so. Beastboy and Robin nodded their heads, finding it easier than to make out words to describe the situation. Starfire glowed, putting her arms around baby Raven.

"Is she not the cutest thing you have ever laid your observing spheres upon?" Behind her, a small growl of jealousy could be heard. Robin craned his neck around Starfire, spotting Silkie sitting next to the stove, looking at the entire situation. He blinked several times, never thinking that Silkie could show such signs of emotion. Starfire, however, seemed not to notice, instead picking Raven back up in her arms and cradling her there.

"Say, how about we go watch some T.V.?" Robin suggested nervously, trying to get the situation back onto something the three boys could appreciate moreso. Beastboy and Cyborg shook their heads frantically, with numb "Yeah, alright." before moving back over to the couch and flipping on the tube. Robin waited for Starfire, who seemed too preoccupied with the child then to note what he had said.

"Uhh, Star?" He asked her. Starfire looked up at him quickly, not having heard him the first time. Registering what the others were doing at the moment, Starfire then stood up and moved over to the Televison set, sitting down and going back to looking at the child she was holding. Robin sat down next to her, wondering if all that attention was safe for the two.

After a good half-hour of watching shows on T.V., with the almost-constant arguing of Cyborg and Beastboy over what to watch and when, Robin could finally relax a bit. His thoughts wondered, from what to watch with the others, to what to eat for supper. Then it suddenly hit him. What was he doing sitting here all relaxed when one of his friends was a _baby_! Shouldn't he be trying to find a cure, or decipher what that book read, or at least something of that nature? What was he doing her doing nothing at all? Robin quickly went for the book that they had left on the table facing the inside of the couch, turning to the page they had been on before. Ignoring the picture that would probably plague his dreams for the next couple weeks, he looked intensely at the letters that made up the other.

No, still nothing. He leaned back on the couch, trying to rack his mind for any thought that might pertain to deciphering such a language. He yielded nothing. The letters were as foreign to him as they probably were to Raven at the moment, the other two boys, or even Starfire...

Starfire... she _had_ spent some time with Raven before, in her room, doing different stuff. Maybe she had an idea of what they meant? Unlikely, but it was worth a shot.

"Hey Star..." he began, moving the book over to her. "You know what this says?" Starfire put her hands under the arms of Raven and handed her off to Beastboy, who had lost the fight over the remote to Cyborg, and had nothing better to do, as the show on at the moment held no interest with him. She then looked over the letters, her eyes scanning each individual one, as if translating them slowly. Robin watched with interest.

"So?" Robin asked her even as she then closed the book with both hands, and lied it beside her.

"I am unable to completely translate what it says, but friend Raven, before she was 'changed', was able to teach me some of her native Azarath."

"So what does it say?" he said again. Starfire looked ahead to the T.V., speaking in a bit more of a distant voice in her reply.

"It says the spell is irreversible with any known counterspell, but that the effects of the spell will wear off in the time of one Earth week."

"Great," Robin said, leaning back even more into the couch. "So Raven's this way for an entire week?"

"Hey, at least we don't have to go on some crazy adventure to find the ingredients to a counter to the spell." Cyborg said, trying to enlighten the situation even as he flipped through the stations. Nothing good seemed to be on anymore.

"Hey Starfire, you think you could take baby Rae back quick? She keeps on squirming in my arms, like she doesn't want to sit still." Beastboy asked Starfire, who giggled even as she reached over and picked the anxious child from the boy's arms. Raven tried to move about, and get out of the grip even as Starfire brought her back into a cradled position.

"What's her problem?" Robin asked, looking at Raven, who still tried to squirm about, making small noises as her escapes were thwarted at every move.

"She probably just wants to move around, babies don't like to be held all the time, ya' know." Cyborg said absentmindidly, still trying to find something to watch. Starfire looked at the child curiously, picking her up under the arms and moving her up in front of her.

"Friend Raven wishes to move around and be active?" Starfire asked the baby. Robintruely wondered if Starfire was actually expecting an answer. She sure seemed to be waiting. However, it was not Raven who made the next speech, but Beastboy.

"Hey, if Rae-Rae wants to go move around, why don't we go to the park? There's a lot of things there for babies to... move on." Robin thought a bit on the idea. He didn't exactly like it, too many people might see them and wonder what was going on. But then again, it might be good for Raven, and they _did_ have an entire week to go before she was back to her usual self...

"An excellent idea, friend Beastboy!" Starfire said, standing up from the couch. She then turned to Cyborg, who had finally found a show he could actually enjoy. He looked back at her, a bit warily.

"What?" he asked, hoping it wasn't what he thought it might be.

"Friend Cyborg, might you be able to drive us to the park so that friend Raven might enjoy herself?" Starfire asked, smiling the entire time. Cyborg's facial expressions slackened, and his body fell a bit more into the couch. Obviously, he didn't want to go.

"Oh, come on Star. I just found something I want to watch on the T.V., and 'sides, can't you just fly up to the park anyway?" Cyborg felt a drop of sweat go down the back of his head even as Starfire leaned in close with Raven, this time her smile more menacingly than friendly.

"But I am sure that friend Raven would much more approve a ride in your grounded vehicle than a flight in the air that might cause fear to her!" Starfire said back, her smile continuing throughout the entire small reasoning. Beastboy leaned in next to Cyborg and whispered, having gotten up from his seat and gone over to his friend.

"Dude, just take 'em to the park, not like it's gonna' hurt you if you do, though it looks like it might if you don't...

"And besides, you know how much the _ladies_ dig babies, it'll be a goldmine!" Cyborg nodded glumly in agreement with his friend, deciding on the safest course of action for him.

"Alright Star, I'll drive you two..."

"Glorious, we shall _all_ go!" Starfire exclaimed, standing up and away from Cyborg, and hugging Raven close to her. Cyborg joined Robin in leaning back uncomfortably in his couch seat, not sure if he had made the right choice, despite it's safety.

_'Well, at least this afternoon will be uneventful.'_ Robin thought to himself, already standing up so that he wouldn't be left behind as Starfire raced out of the lobby door towards the garage located in the bottom of the Tower. He need not have rushed, Cyborg slowly following after him.

X X X

The ride to the park was, as Robin had predicted, uneventful. Starfire had sat in the back with Beastboy as Robin rode in the front with the only Titan able to drive, Cyborg. They had parked in the public parking lot, gotten out, and walked over to the playground area, where Starfire had let Raven run about, watching her from a safe distance on a park bench occupied by her and Robin. Beastboy had taken the form of a dog and was running about, causing a confusion among some park residents who didn't recognize him at first. Cyborg meanwhile, was busy testing out Beastboy's theory, making sure he was close enough to the slides and tubes that Raven found herself in so that the common passerby could see her, and he could act as if he was calling out to ensure her safety. He had already used it to some mild success, capturing the attention of several ladies, who stopped to comment on how cute Raven's tiny cloak and hood was, even as the baby pulled it back on over her head when it flew off as she went down a slide.

"Yeah, that's my little niece over there, ain't she cute?" Cyborg said, talking to several women all at once. They all instantly agreed, spouting off the usual sayings about babies.

"She's adorable!" One of the girls, whose hair was a natural brown, commented.

"Oh, that's the cutest baby I've _ever_ seen!" Said another. A third however, tried to approach the child, who had finished her ride down the slide and was now playfully moving around in the sand. The girl moved over to the child, as if to pick her up.

A starbolt came crashing down from the sky, blasting right into the sand next to her. The girl jumped away, freaked out by the suprise tactic. Starfire flew down next to her, eyes lighted up.

"Keep your hands away from my bumgorf!" She shouted at the woman. Cyborg looked over at her, lost for words. Robin meanwhile, had run over, trying to pull her back.

"Star, it's okay... she wasn't going to hurt Raven, she just wanted to-"

"Hey Star, quit trying to interfere here!'" Cyborg interrupted Robin's more silent pleas, visibly annoyed that Starfire's "attack" had made all the women that had been with him walk or run off, not wishing to anger the Tamaranean girl anymore than they already had. Starfire pointed an accusatory finger at Cyborg, her eyes still alight in rage.

"You have been using friend Raven merely to do the 'picking of chicks'!"

"And you made me drive you guys here, it's fair!" Cyborg shot back, trying to defend his actions. They probably would have continued to go at it, if it had not been for Robin interrupting the both of them with his own concern.

"Hey, where did Raven go?" Both of the arguing parties stopped as they looked back over to the sandbox that Raven had just landed in. The small imprint she had left from landing off the slide was still there, but now a small trail of footprints came with it. Raven, however, was missing, having walked off while the two had been arguing.

"Friend Raven!" Starfire shouted at the top of her lungs, terrified of her missing status. Cyborg ran over with her to the sandbox, looking down at the small footprints.

"She couldn't have gotten that far, that's for sure." The tallest Titan said, examining them. The trio then looked ahead in the grass. But there was no sign of her to be seen ahead, where could've she gone in such a short amount of time?

Hey, you guys gonna' stand 'dere all day?" Another small, child-like voice asked them. The three Titans turned their heads collectively to the right. A small boy carrying a teddy bear asked them, waiting for them to move out of the way of the slide. They oblidged with his silent demands, getting out of his way and on the trail their friend had left behind them. The small boy ran towards the playground and jumped onto the slide, oblivious to their plight. The mother of the child looked at the teens strangely, wondering what the saviors of their town had been doing in a sandbox.

"As soon as we find Raven, I think the first thing we should do is go back to the Tower." Robin said, embarassed by the whole situation as the woman continued watching them, curious. The other two numbly nodded in agreement.

Raven strolled through a flowery patch of open park, walking as fast as her short legs could carry her. A slight breeze kept catching her hood and pulling it back, causing the baby to grab with her stubby fingers and pull it back over her head. It was almost like a security blanket for her, the hood was. Nevertheless she walked around unhindered by any parent or watch figure, going about in the field joyfully. She then sat down in the field, looking around at the sights. Though her small mind at such an age could not comprehend or remember the sights, it was beauty to the small child; all the colors and smells; evvery last moment of it. A small, winged creature floated past her, it's orange wings connected to it's tiny, yet long body flapping at an almost rythmic pace. Raven got back and followed the butterfly, trying to capture it in her open hands.

Suddenly, her fun was interrupted as a giant green dog jumped in front of her. The baby stopped suddenly, nearly falling backwards from the suprise. The dog then stood up on it's hind legs, before re-assuming the shape in its natural form. Beastboy stood before the baby, looking down in mild suprise.

"Raven, what are you doing so far out?" The green teen asked, stooping down to pick the child up. Raven tried to get away, but to no avail as Beastboy grabbed her at her sides and picked her up. He began to walk back to the rest of the park, putting Raven on the one side. Her arms hung over his right shoulder, and she could still see the butterfly fly away, free. She squirmed, trying to get at it.

"Could you calm down, Rae? Starfire's probably having a panic attack over you, you know that? And who knows what coulda' happened to you out here, with no one to watch you?" Raven paid no attention to her friend's advice. Of course, she probably couldn't even understand it, at her age. She tried to reach out for the butterfly, which flew farther still away. Soon it was out of view. Beastboy shifted his arms a bit, trying to keep the child sitting on his right arm with his left hand on her back comfortable. He could, however, still hear a moan coming on. It was followed by another, more solid and connected sound, like the one that had begun back in the Tower when they had not changed Raven for several minutes.

"Oh not now..." Beastboy mumbled, hearing the tears come up. His ears twitched unpleasently even as the baby he was carrying began to sob loudly, the butterfly she had been watching now gone. Beastboy carried her for another minute, then stopped, unable to bear it anymore. He moved Raven away from his tear-stained shoulder, placing her on the ground.

"Come on, Rae! Not now, not this! Uhh... what are you gonna' do, ole' Beastie, what are you gonna' do?" An idea then popped into his head, one he had suggested to Raven a while back, though he didn't know of its success...

"Hey Rae... why did the chicken cross the road?" he asked the baby, who continued to cry for her lost butterfly.

"Because... he didn't want to 'calucked' by the cars if he stood in the middle!" Beastboy finished the horrible joke. Raven continued to cry, not having even paid attention to the terrible pun. Beastboy stood there even as Raven continued to sob, trying to think of another joke to tell.

But first he had to grab Raven and jump out of the way of a beam of light if he wanted to do that. The ground the two had just been occupying exploded upward in a shower of dirt from the collision of light, Raven's cries having been stopped by the attack, and her amusement returned by the same action. She clapped her two small hands together, not knowing any better at the situation at hand. Beastboy looked around wildly, trying to find the source of his attacker.

"Please, might you just shut that child up!" Came a cry from one of the trees. Beastboy quickly turned his head to where it had originated. A man stepped out from behind the tree, looking at Beastboy and the small child in annoyance.

"Even supervillians have to get a little R and R once in a while!" The villian said, striking Beastboy dumbfounded.

_Doctor Light_.

"And besides, where'd you even get that small child from, she looks almost like-" Doctor Light stopped himself, taking a closer look at the baby that Beastboy was now holding closer to himself, protectively. His eyes shifted, as if he was trying to recognize something.

"Hey, uhh... how's about you just leave us alone and go back to sleeping?" Beastboy responded, nervously. He knew on his own he wasn't a match for the light-powered villian, and with Raven here defenseless he was really in a tight spot. Doctor Light stood up more fully, now confident in whatever he had seen.

"Tell me, shapeshifter, why does that child look so familiar?"

"That's none of your business!" Beastboy shot back angrily, letting go of Raven a bit. If he had to fight Doctor Light, then he might as well give it everything he had.

"That only proves to interest me even more, changeling. Hand the girl over to me, or face the wrath of Doctor-"

The villian's words were cut short even as several birdarangs flew at him and exploded near him, throwing the bad doctor away from his targets. The supervillian looked at the newly arrived other three Titans, annoyed by their interruption.

"Doctor Light, leave Beastboy and Raven alone!" Robin said, already pulling out his bo staff and bringing it to his side. Starfire floated nearby, both hands enveloped in readied energy for her starbolts. Cyborg aimed his Sonic Cannon, ready to fire as soon as Doctor Light made a move. The villian however, smiled at hearing what he did.

"So that _is _the girl. I was wondering whether it was or not. Though I question _how_ she may have changed into her babified state, I thank you, boy blunder, on your informing of me on the situation at hand!" Robin nearl stumbled, realizing with some help of his admittance. He cursed his tongue for such.

"Titans, GO!" Robin commanded. Beastboy immediately assumed the form of a bear and charged at Doctor Light. The villian pulled up a gloved hand, bathing it in light. A beam developed, and carved its way through the open air and straight into Beastboy, knocking him back. The green teen transformed back into his normal form, out of breath from the blow to his stomach.

Starfire was up next, throwing multiple starbolts the villian's way. Doctor Light waved his hand over the air in front of him, bringing up a strip made up of light from his glove. The stabolts collided with the makeshift shield, blowing up on impact. The foe then grinned as he then glowed his hand as bright as he could, temporarily blinding the Tamaranean girl as she flew towards him. Starfire stopped coming forward, falling to the ground as she covered her eyes, seeing too huge of spots to fight back. Doctor Light then shot at her, knocking her back and towards the others. Robin dropped his weapon and went flying to catch her like a left-fielder in a baseball game. The two collided in midair, Starfire's dizzy form slamming into Robin's arms and pulling him back farther than he would have guessed on catching her. Cyborg stepped forward to cover the two.

"Yo' man, my sound'll trump your light any day!" he said, shooting at the villian his Sonic Cannon. Doctor Light did the same stunt from before, bringing up a wall of light in front of him, but this time with a wave from both arms. The blast smashed into the shield, but did not brake it.

"Perhaps in Chemistry, my foe, but not today against the power of DOCTOR LIGHT!" The villian then brought his hands foward and knocked the outer areas of his hands together, the little jewels on those places hitting each other. A small bead of light appeared in front of his hands, which then expanded until it was several times its original size. Then it shot forward in the form of a beam, smashing into the metallic teen, and knocking him on his back, and out of the fight. He moaned, trying to stir.

"Today, victory is claimed your archfoe, Doctor Light!" The bad doctor said, walking over to the spot where baby Raven sat and watched the fight with her big eyes. He knelt down and picked her up by the back of her cloak's collar, looking at her.

"PUT HER DOWN!" Robin shouted, leaving the side of Starfire and charging at the villian. Doctor Light brought up a hand and illuminated it. A beam, much smaller though than the one used to pacify Cyborg, shot out of it and hit Robin squarely in the chest. It knocked the teen back, ending his resistance.

"And as the victor, I shall take the spoils of this battle. If you ever wish to see this young girl again, you shall adhear to my demands when next I tell them!" Doctor Light then reached into the side of his suit. Pulling out a small, spherical object, he then tossed it at the ground, coinciding with a renewed leap by Beastboy to stop him. The entire field was illuminated in a bright, easily-blinding light. The Titans fell back to shield their eyes from it. Seconds later, they stood back up, and looked around.

No sign of Doctor Light, the place where they had been was a slightly-scorched piece of grassland now. The evidence of their battle remained, but the villian did not.

But worst of all, as Starfire's wail of horrified fright indicated, was the missing status of Raven as well, taken by their villian.

And to who know's where.

**End of Chapter Three**


	4. Chapter 4

**Note:Thanks for all the kind reviews guys. Without further ado, here's Chapter IV.**

**Chapter Four**

"Robin, we must find her!" Starfire cried out, gripping the boy wonder by his shoulders from behind even as the teen detective used all the tools possibly at his disposal to try to locate the new location of their infant friend. He'd been at the console for several straight hours, but he was still going strong, except of course for the every once and a while outbursts by his Tamaranean friend, overcome with grief and fear. Truth be told, they all were, but Starfire was the one who let it show the most out of the pair currently at the tower.

Robin sighed and took his hand from the keyboard even as Starfire let her grip slip a bit from his shoulders. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand, the pose always for some reason helping him think a bit more clearly. It had barely been a half of a day since Doctor Light had kidnapped Raven, and disappeared from their sights. He had Beastboy patrolling the skies in numerous skins, and Cyborg driving down every street in the city, multiple times usually. But it had led to yielding nothing; no sign of Doctor Light; no sign of baby Raven. He could hear the wind slowly part as Starfire paced back and forth in the air, more worried than he was, if that was even possible at the moment.

"Have you found nothing of what has happened to Raven?" Starfire appealed to him desperately, coming to a slight stop only feet away from his chair. The grip of Robin's glove on his skin became a bit tighter as he tried to think of any loose link or trail his data might have missed. Still nothing to be found. The Boy Wonder rolled his chair back from the desk, and turned it to face his friend.

"There's... _nothing_, Starfire. I've gone over every piece of data that might have been helpful, every note or subscript Light's ever said, to see if that could be a clue as to where he's hiding out, and it hasn't shown anything."

"But there must be!" Starfire shouted back, more scared for her friend than angry at Robin's inconclusiveness. "There must be something that the Doctor of Light has said that will lead us to him, or some trail or article of hair or cloth or-"

"But there isn't, Starfire. There's nothing to go on. He came in, grabbed Raven, beat us up, and waved out. We've got nothing to go on, and if Beastboy and Cyborg haven't found anything as well, then-"

As if on cue, Robin's computer screen went off in a flash of buzzards and sounds. He quickly spun back around in his chair, alert for whatever message he was being sent. Starfire immediately flew up next to him, leaning in on the screen of the monitor. Robin's hands moved over the keyboard, allowing the message to come in. Cyborg's face appeared on the screen.

"Robin, this is Cyborg, over." The large teen said. From the background, Robin could tell that he was still driving around in the T-Car. The prospect of him having not found anything yet left him a little less positive on the outcome of the message.

"This is Robin, what've you found, Cye?" The Boy Wonder asked his teammate. Cyborg moved the steering wheel a bit, indicating he was turning the car at an intersection.

"Not much man, but my car's picking up something that seems to match Raven's energy signature. Coming from the apartments down on thirty-first."

"We'll be there as fast we can." Robin replied, already pushing his chair away from the console. Starfire had already taken off as soon as she had heard the news, leaving the leader to get himself there. He quickly ran from the chair, leaving the computer on. Cyborg's portrait on the machine blipped out as the talk between the two died out with their departure, leaving the three to get there themselves.

Even as Robin ran through the hallway, intent for the garage and his R-Cycle, thoughts played through his head. What was Doctor Light wanting to do with Raven anyway? What purpose could she serve to the pitiful villian anyway?

_'Whatever it is, it not's going to last long. We're coming for you Raven.' _he assured himself. There was no way they were going to let anything happen to their friend.

_Nothing_.

**X X X**

Doctor Light pushed his way through the door in his small apartment at the "Lights Out" complex. The small two-room home was dirty, littered with numerous devices and half-built weapons based on the concepts of light. The Doctor quicked a burned-out bulb away from his path as he made his way through the first room, ignoring the table littered with what had been his half-eaten breakfast. Thinking ahead, he grabbed a once-bitten piece of toast, still buttered from the wee hours of the day, and took another bite from it in his one hand.

The Doctor then heard a slight "Ooh" sound come from his side. He looked down to his right hand side, towards the baby he was carrying in his hand. He had almost forgotten about it. He raised it up to his eye level, the cloak's hooded part covering his head. The baby stared back at him with a blank stare. He then took his other hand, and slowly, took another bite of his toast. Raven made another small noise as he chewed the food and swallowed it.

"Hmmm..." Doctor Light pondered what the small infant wanted as he continued to eat his food. He quickly consumed the half-stale bread and butter, throwing the crust back onto the plate, before then walking out of the kitchen, still carrying the baby in one hand. He could feel the tiny thing struggling against him, for some reason trying to get back into the other room. But to no use, Doctor Light was surely stronger than a mere _baby_. He may have been no weightlifter, but age and corresponding growth held its own here.

The other room was darkened, with a T.V. in one corner, a chair facing it from the opposite side next to the doorway leading to the first room, and then a small bed on a third side of the room, away from both the T.V. and chair. He moved over to the bed and deposited Raven on it. The baby landed with a soft "thud" onto the mattress, quickly taking to looking up at him with large eyes. Doctor Light stared in response down at her, his hands behind his back. The two stood there, watching one another.

"Do you know why I've brought you here, dear child?" Doctor Light began to question the babe, who had no way of understanding such. The child then spotted a bagel on the edge of the bed, she got on all fours and moved over towards it slowly, giggling as she got closer.

A wall of light suddenly obstructed her path, stopping Raven in her crawl. The baby nearly fell back onto its diapered posterior, suprised by the move. Dctor Light placed a hand on the wall he had just created, continuing to stare at the baby. He twirled his fingers in the air, corresponding walls in response suddnely appear on every side of the small child, boxing her in. All she could do was look up at the Doctor.

"Don't think you'll try to escape now, hmm?" Doctor Light said tauntingly, causing the small child to bite her bottom lip in annoyance. He then stood up from the wall, standing over her at his fullest height.

"Now, as I was saying... do you know why I've brought you here, Titan? Of course you probably don't, but you could probably guess the reason, I'm sure.

"After countless battles with you tykes all that's happened is embarrassment after embarrassment for me, defeat after defeat! I've never been able to catapult myself into the status of a well-known supervillian, because every time I try to, you _Teen Titans_ get in my way, and every time, you stop me!

"You joke about me, make fun of me, and taunt me! Well, _now_ it's MY turn! Now it's my turn to joke about you, embarrass you in front of others, and make you appear pathetic to others. All will soon know and fear Doctor Light, but no one will EVER need to know who the 'Teen Titans' are, and it all starts here and now!" Doctor Light's rant had carried his train of thought off elsewhere into dreams of power and reputation, causing him to look up as he thought of such illusions of grandeur. Raven meanwhile had lost interest in listening to things she couldn't understand, and she had returned to the wall, trying to find a way to get to the food outside. Doctor Light however, finally calmed down from his self-hype, and looked back down at the baby, catching her attention.

"So all I can say to you is..."

Doctor Light's hand went behind his body for several seconds, fishing around in his back pockets while he searched for a particular object. He then pulled it out, holding the circular object stuck on a small stick in front of Raven's awe-struck eyes.

_"Candy?"_ The villian uttered, wearing a beign smile on his face. Raven immediately reached out for the sucker as Doctor Light handed it to the small child, who took it and immediately proceeded to licking it joyfully. Doctor Light continued to stare down at her, smiling.

Then, he immediately reached back for the sucker and took it away, tearing it from Raven's small hands.

"HAHA! Now you no longer have that which makes you happy! It's like taking candy from a baby!" he said, laughing as baby Raven stared up at him, reaching for the sucker even as he tossed it away into a corner of the room. She slowly brought her tiny arms back near her body, bawling them up as fists. Tears beginning to well up in her tiny ducts, even as the small child began to hiccup uncontrollably in an attempt to subdue them. Doctor Light detracted from his laughter even as the cries began.

"WAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Baby Raven began to scream even as Doctor Light dove for cover, unprepared for it. The screams echoed throughout his small apartment, ringing in his ears. Doctor Light cupped them in an attempt to shield his hearing from the wails beginning to emit from the small child on his bed.

"Stop it, STOP IT!" he tried to yell back. But it was fruitless, as baby Raven continued to cry over her stolen food. An article of clothing was suddenly enveloped in negative energy and thrown across the room, hitting the bad doctor in his face. Light peeled the old sock off of his nose and grimaced at the smell, tossing it away. But as soon as it left his hands, negative energy suddenly enveloped it a second time, and it flew back at him. He blasted it wwith a small beam of light, even as he watched more and more of his possessions begin to show signs of the energy taking over them.

The owner of the apartment stood back up, and then immediately fell back to the ground as a lamp flew over his head, intent on nowhere in particular. His entire room was becoming possessed, even as Raven's cries became louder and louder. A shelf from the one wall fell off, depositing a collection of lightbulbs onto the floor, smashing them into pieces.

"NO! Not my Y2K backups!" The bad doctor screamed, running over to them. Even as he tried to scoop them up the shelf itself fell down, konking him on the head. Doctor Light warily turned onto his back, looking back over at his bed with the baby on it. A strange, animal-like image was seemingly emerging from the child, screeching as it came out from seemingly nowhere but the child itself, flying out for a second, but then suddenly springing back into the child's body, like a rubber-band, only to then expose itself again. The animal, now solid enough on this try to be recognized as a _raven_, screeched out a horrible cackle, causing Doctor Light to grow whiter than his power suit he often wore on some occasions. He immediately reached over to where he had thrown the sucker, having to dodge his favorite chair as it too took to the air in his room in negative energy, and then turned back to his bed, where the raven was seeming to creep closer to him, causing objects to whirl around the room at an even more frantic pace.

"HERE TAKE IT BACK!" The Doctor screamed even as the creature finally broke from the baby's body and flew at him. He threw with all his might the candy back at his bed, landing it inside the cage in which Raven sat. Almost immediately, all the objects being thrown around the room dropped onto the floor below them, and the raven coming at Doctor Light ceased to exist, withdrawing back to the child. The villian breathed a breath of momentary relief, having been saved. He pushed himself off the floor even as Raven picked the sucker back up in small fingers and began to enjoy it once more, and moved as warily as he had before back over to her, staring down at the small child.

"You're too much trouble." he said, looking at her in the cage. She seemed to pay no attention, too busy with the candy to note his words, which wouldn't even make sense to her young mind. Sighing, Doctor Light picked up the babe by the back of her cloak, and trudged his way out of his now even-more ruined apartments.

Only one thing to do now...

**X X X**

A heavily covered person ran down a rather-glum street, ignoring the strange stares by the average passerby. As soon as he came to the end of one street, he turned at the corner, choosing instead to walk a bit of a longer way than wait for the blue and white car to speed past the light. The person continued his mad dash, desperate to get where his target was.

After several minutes of non-stop walking and running, the person finally reached his destination. Stopping in front of the stoop of the rather large and slightly intimidating house, he walked up the steps as silently as he could, and then deposited the basket in front of the door. He then knocked three times, and jumped off the stoop, making as fast a run as he could away from the building. A few seconds passed before anything happened, the wind blew gently about, slightly disturbing the covers over the basket.

Then, the door opened slowly, revealing a man in white suit and tye. He looked a bit old, with the top of his head balding. A black handkerchief sat in the rightside breastpocket, fresh. He looked around, pointing his elderly face out of the doorway. No one seemed to be around, strangely. Of course, the old man presumed, this could just be a rather nasty joke by some of the local children, pulling a prank on him.

Then the man noticed the small basket sitting in front of his door. He stooped down and picked it up, finding no note of any kind. He then moved the cover, wondering what could be underneath it.

"Goo." Came a small reply from a slightly-tired baby Raven. The man's gentle eyes opened somewhat in suprise. He began to step back into the house, taking the basket and child with him.

"Quite peculiar..." The old butler said to himself even as he closed the door to the house and began walking back in, carrying the basket over one arm.

"I cannot fathom how master Slade shall take such news."

**End of Chapter Four**


	5. Chapter 5

**Note:Alright, well here is chapter five, in all it's prewritten  
before-I-started-to-put-it-up-here-and-have-to-write-another-chapter-glory. Enjoy.  
**

**Chapter Five**

The butler, with basket in hand, then turned and began to walk back down the hallway in the house. He passed by a staircase leading to an upstairs floor, going straight forward. Wintergreen heard every once and a while a small noise coming from the basket. He could tell that whoever this child might be, that she was quite tired. He had a thought to just go upstairs and let her rest instead of carrying her around, but decided... for the moment, it might be best just to alert his master to the young one among them.

He continued walking in proper step, his spotless and white shoes tapping the wooden floor lightly. The hallway was small, but by no means compact, if Wintergreen had ever wished to, he could have easily swung his arms in any fashion he chose. But such a thing would be improper, not to mention unintelligent. Still, Wintergreen enjoyed the brisk walk up in the regular part of the domain, where the cold air from outside got in much more than it did elsewhere in the living quarters.

Wintergreen then reached the end of the hallway. In front and on either side of him now stood a door. He already knew which one he needed to go through, so Wintergreen turned to the one on his right, and placed his old hand on the knob. Turning it slowly so as to not make any squeaking sounds that might disturb the child, he then opened the door, and walked inside.

As soon as he did so, Wintergreen immediately then turned to his left, facing a very long flight of steps that almost immediately led down as soon as one walked through the door. He shifted the basket a bit more onto his right arm, and closed the door with his left. He then began an almost rythmic walk as he made his way down the stairs, making little noise as the stainless steel met the soles of his shoes.

The stairs seemed to go on forever, with the occasional turn in direction, which always seemed to be right. After several minutes of the trek, the butler could already feel it getting slightly hotter in temperature, the cool night air from before unable to pierce this deep into his master's lair. After another minute or two of this walk, Wintergreen finally departed from the stairs, his feet touching down now on connected floor panels. He could almost see his reflection in them, along with the bottom of the wicker basket on his arm. The child inside no longer seemed to be moving, seemingly having fallen asleep from the long trip, or at least, long for a babe.

He continued walking along the shining flooring, until he came to yet another door. This one however, unlike the ones far upstairs, was made of metal sheets and steel bandings. Wintergreen moved a hand up to the door's scanner, and placed his old hand on it. A flash of red went over the small machine's surface, reading his fingerprints. A small beep from inside the scanner then admitted him entrance, being soon joined a large "clunk" sound as the locks inside of the metal barrier unlocked, and the door slid aside to permit Wintergreen entrance.

The room inside was dark, his master's personal chamber. For most villians, they would have always put their personal dwelling probably somewhere off from the entrance into their lairs or caves or whatever hideout they lived in, but not Slade. No, he liked to be in the face of anyone coming, and though he often disappeared into the deeper reaches of his lair every once and a while, mostly he was in here; plotting... waiting.

And tonight was no exception.

"Wintergreen." The butler already could hear his master calling out to him. Though it took a bit, Wintergreen's eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness of the room, which permitted him to see into the back, where Slade sat in his throne-like seat. His gloved hands rested on the armrests on either side of him, and he stared at his butler, letting no emotion slip from him. "What do you have there?"

Wintergreen obliged his master's request, walking up to him even as he continued to carry the baskey containing the small babe. When he was about a good ten or so feet away from Slade, he stopped.

"Sir, when I was upstairs, an unknown rang the doorbell and ran off, leaving this basket on the front porch. Well, since it was drizziling quite steadily, I decided to takethe basket in, since it wouldn't get wet, and to-"

"You know better Wintergreen. I have enemies, and if one of them knew where I lived, they could easily attempt to-"

"Yes, I do know sir, but still, I had a good reason for bringing it in. You see sir, I reached down first to see what was in the basket, and I was most pleasantly suprised to find-" At this moment Wintergreen pulled back the covering that was over the front of the basket, revealing the small passenger that he had carried throughout a good part of the house.

"-That we had an unexpected visitor tonight, sir." The butler then finished, letting the image of the sleeping infant sink into Slade. The man sat still in his chair, seemingly unmoved by the sight of the baby asleep; an arm curled up and near her grey face; her head turned slightly to the side; the miniature cloak covering up almost all of her facial features; and the rest of her body wrapped up under a small blanket. Wintergreen stood there several seconds, the basket still over his right. The lack of lights seemed to help to not disturb the baby's slumber, a good thing. Then suddenly, Slade stood up from his chair and walked over to his old friend and servant, keeping his hands behind his back. He stopped only a few feet away, staring down closely at the child. There was something... _familiar_, about her. Something that reminded him of... another person he had run into before. But he couldn't pin it at the moment, his mind still on other thoughts. He then turned from Wintergreen, facing the far wall.

"Get rid of it, I don't have a use for a child here." he then said coldly, not noticing the slightly-shocked look on his friend's face from the detached demeanor associated with another human.

"Sir, you can't be saying this, it's but a young baby-"

"-That serves no purpse to me, or any of my plans. Put her back on the doorstep, and let whoever dropped her off come and get her back." Slade interrupted his servant, still not turning to face the man. Wintergreen could almost once again feel the cool night air, but this time it was neither comforting, nor enjoyable. Normally he would've approved of Slade's orders, and just done what he wastold to. But he couldn't... in this case. It was only a baby, he couldn't just... abandon it... It was proper, or even right.

"Sir... I cannot do that, sir. She's only a babe. Just let her stay this one night, would you sir? I'll keep her in my room, she won't be a bother at all, I assure you." Wintergreen then went silent, realizing he had overstepped a line not to be overstepped. He stood still, waiting for Slade to either reprimand him, or order him again. He decided however, to not hear it again, the words seemnig too cruel even for Slade to say them.

"I... I apologize, Sir, I will... get to taking the child outside right away. If you'll excuse m-"

"-No." Slade then said, turning around. His eye was narrower than usual as he faced Wintergreen, and his tone seemed no different. He still had the regular detached sounding voice, as he usually did. But still... something seemed a bit... different, from just a few moments ago.

"The child can stay, if you want it to. But I don't want it to be disturbing my slumber. Make sure it doesn't." Wintergreen nodded, then smiled a bit.

"As if you were planning on sleeping tonight anyway, sir?" Slade turned away from his servant, waving him away with an arm.

"You always were more humorous than loyal." he replied, half-muttering to himself, half-sharing the joke with an old friend. Wintergreen kept the frail smile on his face, then turned away and went back to the metallic door, heading back up to the main house, and to his room.

The sound of the door sliding back into its place even as Wintergreen left his main room alerted Slade to his alone status again. The villian went back to his throne, and thought. Why _had _he changed his mind on letting the child stay? No, Wintergreen was his servant, and Slade didn't tolerate disloyalty, even Wintergreen's brand, though he usually "forgot" about it, their friendship too long to let such minor infractions come between them. He was, after all, one of the few people still close to him, and though Slade didn't necessarily need people to be himself, sometimes... it helped him.

_Sometimes._

So what had been the reason he had let Wintergreen keep the small child? She didn't seem to fit into any plans he was currently concocting in the inner areas of his mind, since he hadn't known of her until just know. So what had made him change his mind. For someone who could use ninety-percent of his bran at once, Slade might've been at a loss for once.

Something... the sense of... of being reminded of, someone, by that child. But who then, if she reminded him of someone? Who was it that he was reminded of. Was it the clothes of the baby? All he could and had wanted to see was a heavy hood over the sleeping baby's head.

The hood... part of a cloak... and a _blue_ cloak at that. It had reminded him of someone, of another person who wore similar aparel. And the tone of skin... grayer than normal, as if deathly, but having no adverse health effects on the child. Gray skin, and a blue cloak with a hood.

It reminded him of... another. An enemy, and a friend of several other enemies.

But how was such similarities possible in two figures that were so obviously drastically different from one another?

Wintergreen was right. That child was not going to disturb his lack of sleep at all.

**X X X**

The old butler finally made it back to the top of the stairs, and back into the regular part of the lair, of the house. He curtly turned, keeping the basket over one arm, careful not to jolt it and disturb the occupant's slumber, and walked back down the much-shorter hallway. When he reached the end, Wintergreen then took a left and proceeded to walking up the set of stairs that led to the upper part of the house.

His room, chiefly among the other rarely-used rooms.

The stairs creaked under his feet, the strain of walking so many flights of stairs and now these starting to cause a slight feeling of tiredness about him. But the butler continued on, carrying the basket on an arm. He then reached the top of the old wooden stairs, and into a small hallway. Again, several doors were on either side. He walked down to the fathest one, through the flowery wallpapered-hallway, and gently grasped the rickety doorknob. He then turned it slowly, no need for a key since only his master and himself lived here, other than the occasional guest that occupied one of the three other rooms.

The room was quite plain, as Wintergreen perferred it. A simple bed with a few sheets and several pillows stood in the corner of the room, with the ends rising up in metal. A small bedstand was next to it on the left side, with an empty glass and several books he read nightly on top of it, not to mention a small lamp, always on. Opposite the neat bed sat a wicker chair, with a risen back and sides, going up at a curve. Wintergreen moved to it first, walking across the wooden flooring. He took the basket off from his arm, and then placed it carefully in the chair, making sure it might not suddenly shift in the night and wake up the child. He smiled as he uncovered the basket, just to make sure the child was alright, seeing her still peaceful face underneath the cloak, her small form kept warm underneath the blanket. He then, almost with the smallest touch of reluctance, covered the basket back up again, in an attempt to keep the inside even warmer with the thin veil of fabric.

The elderly gentleman then moved away from the chair, and towards a large closet on the side of the room with hte door. He opened the set of doors, and then began to remove his suit and tye, before declothing the other outer parts of his clothing. After putting away such, he then took out a nightgown and slipped it on, following that he adorned his head with matching cap, before closing the large closet.

Wintergreen then walked over to the bed, and got in underneath the covers. He had already brushed his teeth hours before, and his bowels were empty. He was about to drift to sleep when suddenly the quiet of the night was interrupted by a clap of lightning. His eyes jolted open quickly, though he restrained from jumping out of bed at such a natural thing. It _was_ storming after all, it was to be expected. However, his real concern was for the other occupant of the room. Wintergreen suddenly sat up in his bed, and looked over at the chair where the babe slept. No motion, and no sudden noises. The lightning had failed to wake her.

Smiling to himself a bit again, Wintergreen then lied back in bed, satisfied with the child's state of being. His aged eyelids then began to close, even as he drifted off, and joined the much younger girl in the land of dreams.

**X X X**

Doctor Light moved through the dirty hallway, and rushed his way back into the small apartment where he lived. He kicked at some junk on the floor even as he threw off his heavy coat, tired by his nightly excursion through the city to dump off his "unwanted baggage". He moved through the kitchen, wanting only to get to his bed and fall face-first onto it, into sleep. For some odd reason, the lights in the living room were all out, and even darker than usual. But Doctor Light didn't think of it, and decided to barge right into the room, making for the couch.

Suddenly, the sound of air parting was heard even as a swift "CRACK!" sound could be heard. Doctor Light's world exploded into pain even as the supervillian stumbled back into the kitchen, his head throbbing from whatever had hit him. He raised his right hand and covered his forehead. He could already feel a bruise develop. A figure then moved out of the darkness of the living room, and into the kitchen.

"Hello, Doctor Light." Robin said, resting his bo staff on his shoulder. His cloak nearly covered his entire upper body, only a rift in it seperating the two ends b the coming out of his left hand to hold his weapon. Doctor Light growled at the intruder in his own home.

"What are _you_ doing here, Titan?" he said, spitting the last word out venomously. He charged up the left glove on his suit and quickly attempted to shoot the Boy Wonder. Robin however, fell to the ground while keeping to both legs, letting the blast smash into the plaster and concrete behind him. Even as Doctor Light then stared at the destruction to his own apartment wall, his jaw dropping, Robin then moved forward, putting the bo staff to the opponent's throat.

"Give us back Raven now, and we _might_ let you go to the authorities unharmed..." The Titans leader said in a low growl, pressing the metal slightly against the villian's skin.

"And if I... don't?" Doctor Light taunted his teenage enemy. Robin clenched his teeth moreso, and pressed the bo staff closer into Light's throat, causing him to gag slightly.

"Then you get your butt whooped until you do, 'knorfka' style." Cyborg then uttered, emerging from from the other, darkened room. Beastboy was at his side, the expression on his face a cross between the stifling of a laugh, and at the same time a more out of place serious look. Light looked at the green one for only a split second, before then turning his attention to the one who had just spoke.

"You'll _what_, tinman?" he replied, confused and taunting at the same time. Cyborg looked over at Robin, and the two then shared a nod. Cyborg then stepped aside from the smal hallway, pulling Beastboy with him, who was now containing a laugh with great difficulty. Doctor Light eyed them suspiciously, but made no movements, not wanting the bo staff shoved into his throat anymore than it already was.

Suddenly, Robin dropped the bo staff from the villian's neck and fell to the ground on bent knees. Doctor Light barely had time to register a dumbfounded look as Robin then brought his right leg, and perched on his left, swinging back up and planting his foot firmly in Doctor Light's back. The villian lurched forward, forced towards the hallway even as Robin then without stopping pushed the end of his bo staff into the small of the opponent's shoulder blades. Light lurched forward, falling face first into the other room of his apartment.

A clutter was then heard as the three teenagers took the refridgerator from the wall (mostly Cyborg's doing), and blockaded the hallway with it, cutting off any light sources into the living room. The supervillian tried to look back into the room, but found darkness impeding his vision.

"Who do they think they are, lousy kids. I am the great Doctor Light! Do they really think I can't illuminate the solution to this problem?" Doctor Light mumbled to himself, raising one of his gloved hands. He was just about to light it up when suddenly, a sharp pain followed by a crunching sound went through his raised hand. Doctor Light stopped in his activity even as his eyes opened wide in excruciating pain, as the pressure on his increased.

Suddenly, a pair of emerald green eyes opened up in front of his own darkened face, followed by a deep, animal-like growl. Doctor Light let out a small whimper even as his glove's power crackled on, and the illuminated face of the furious Tamaranean girl faced his own, teeth bare.

Robin and the other two boys immediately clamped their hands over their ears as the screams began. The walls then shook at regular intervals, and the sound of different devices breaking periodically followed by more screaming occured soon after.

"Yo Rob..." Cyborg said quietly, nearly being muffled by the sound coming from the other room even though he stood right next to Robin.

"Yeah, Cyborg?"

"Don't you think we might want to... you know... keep enough of Doctor Light around to-" Cyborg's speech was interrupted even as another terrified scream emitted from the other room, and the concrete behind them that made up the wall seperating the two rooms lurched forward in the shape of the bottom of a bowl, bits of plaster falling off. Cyborg then continued as the screams subsided and more smashing noises began.

"-to tell us where he has Raven?" The Cyborg finished, leaning in close to Robin so they could hear each other. Beastboy seemed uninterested from their conversation though, and instead laughed as several explosions rocked the other room. Robin turned away from the changeling, and back towards his other friend.

"...Yeah Cyborg. I think that's a good idea."

The two Titans then turned to look at the impacted wall behind them, barely muffling the continued screaming by the owner of this apartment.

Now was just the question of how to do that.

**X X X**

A loud ringing noise suddenly filled up Wintergreen's ears even as he quickly sat up in bed, his cap sliding off his head. He moved both of his legs out from underneath his sheets and then stood up, the cold morning air chilling him slightly. He bent down to retrieve his night cap, before then putting it on his small desk table and turning off the alarm clock by tapping it on its head. He then shuffled his feet forward towards the closet, retrieving another identical suit from the day before, barely even having woken up while doing so. But this was his daily routine, having followed it for over several decades in service of his master, it was almost rythmic to him.

There was only one small difference however today. The 'other' occupant in the room. Wintergreen walked back to the wicker chair, and pulled the veil on the basket back. The tiny babe was still asleep, her small hands curled up next to her face. The almost-untelligable moving up and down of her tiny chest secured any thoughts of something being amissed. Satisfied, Wintergreen then turned towards the door, and walked out.

He only took several more steps before reachnig the other side of the hallway, where the door to the bathroom was. He quietly then opened that dor, and stepped in. He went about his daily business then; washing up, changing, answering to nature, as he did every day. Within a few short minutes, he was already dressed again for the new day. He then went back to his bedroom, and put his nightgown back into the closet with his cap, his second-to-last step of the morning. It was what he did every day, for years now. The next step was to just walk downstairs into the kitchen.

Only, that part was about to be changed today.

Wintergreen turned back to the wicker chair in his room, and walked over to it. He then moved his arm down, and gently, he picked up the basket and placed it underneath his one arm. Then, he moved out of room, closing the door behind, all the while keeping the basket still so as to not disturb the child. He moved silently down the short hallway, his neat and tidy black shoes barely squeaking at all against the wooden flooring. He was soon at the much-smaller stairway to the first floor, which he took with one hand going down the banister to steady him. As he came down, a figure waiting in the stairwell caught his eye.

"Master Slade?" Wintergreen asked his master, slightly suprised by the sight of him out of his lair deep below. Slade often didn't come to the regular floors often. What ever could be the problem?

"Hello, Wintergreen." Slade said back, seeming calm. Wintergreen was confused for a few short seconds, but did not let it show. Instead, he kept his silence, and came to a stop in front of the other man, keeping the basket on one arm.

"Tell me, how does our 'guest' fare?" Slade then said, his eye moving slightly over to where the child still slept. Wintergreen's eyebrows raised only a tiny fraction, suprised by his master's appearant concern with the child.

"She does quite well sir, slept the entire night despite the storm. Tell me sir, would you be liking something to eat? I was just about to make something for myself and the child, and if you would-"

"No, I already had something earlier." Wintergreen nodded his head curtly. _Of course_.

"Very well sir, tea at the usual time however?" he then asked. Slade nodded his head, and continued to stand there, as if waiting for something.

"Very good then, but now sir, I must get something to feed the poor child." Slade nodded his head again to Wintergreen, and moved aside. He walked straight through the small entrance hall, and towards the kitchen, even as Slade's own feet sounded off, going _upstairs_.

Wintergreen nearly stopped, suprised by the location Slade headed towards. He had rarely gone upstairs for the many years living here, what purpose was going upstairs now for?

The butler then snapped his head back towards the kitchen, and continued to walk to the small room. What business did he have to concern himself about his master's musings, anyway? It wasn't any atall, even if they were close friends. Dismissing the thoughts, he moved his way through the doorway to the kitchen, and then placedthe basket containing the small child on top of the breakfast table.

Other than the table itself, the room was quite empty. A counter stretched from side to the other, with a sink spotless and empty sitting in the middle. A few cabinets sat over that, nailed to the wall behind them. A stove was placed in the left-hand corner, though not seemingly-used much, and a refridgerator in the right. Wintergreen moved first to the cabinets, and retrieved a bowl and cup. The bowl was like any other bowl, plain as the rest of the room, but the cup was different from most. Smaller than normal, it had a top on it, with a spout attached to it. Even as Wintergreen went to retrieve milk from the refridgerator, he spoke quietly to the still asleep babe.

"Thank goodness Master Slade still keeps some of his sons' old baby relics around, or it would be a difficult time for you indeed, young one." The old man mused to himself. He then pulled out a carton of milk, half-full, and moved back to the table with it. He needn't be worried aboutcleaning out the sippy-cup, being that he regularly cleaned every dish, pan, and cup in the living quarters every other day, meaning the child's cup was just as clean as the day it was bought by a rather lovely couple.

Happier times, they had been.

Pulling himself back out of reminiscing about the past, Wintergreen then took the top off the sippy-cup, and poured some milk into it. He then attached the top back on, and let the cup sit on the table, until it was needed to be used. He then went and put the milk back, before going to get his own breakfast. As every day, he had a cup of oatmeal with morning tea, and today was going to be no different.

The doorbell suddenly rang out, catching Wintergreen's attention. The butler moved from the kitchen, and back out into the main hallway.

But he had been too slow, someone else had already answered the door. Or rather, the other occupant of the house had.

"Wintergreen..." Slade said, already holding the door open. He had just come back downstairs, doing whatever he had needed to do, and had been right there when the doorbell rang. "Your lady friend has come to pay a visit again." Wintergreen nearly slouched a bit in slight annoyance at Slade's tone of the announcement.

"Really sir, though she may work for your archnemisis, there's no reason to speak like that." Wintergreen said back, keeping his voice straight. Slade merely moved away from the door, allowing the woman to enter the hallway.

"Oh, don't worry about it William. Blood gets the same way all the time when you come over. It's just their way of having 'fun'." The woman spoke, a small smile playing on her lips. Her graying hair was held back in a roll, and though she may have been a bt older than most, only some slight wrinkles and the grey hair gave away her age, which nearly matched Wintergreen's to the day. Slade then stepped out from between the two, and back towards the staircase leading below.

"I'll leave you two alone now. Enjoy your day off, Wintergreen."

"But sir, today isn't-" Wintergreen's slight protest was cut off as Slade closed the door behind him, ending the little conversation. The butler sighed silently, then turned back to the woman. She wore a rather conservative dress, with a skirt that went down to her knees, and stockings going up underneath that. She wore a light pink lipstick on her lips, and an orange patch adorned her right upperarm's sleeve. WIntergreen couldn't help but smile at his good friend, that also happened to be a lady.

"Well then, William, I suppose you won't be minding taking the day off to venture around with me in the city?" The Hive Headmistress said to him gently, already knowing the answer.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Miss Penelope Lord. But there's one last thing I must attend to if I'm to go." Wintergreen responded in turn. He turned around, and then headed back into the kitchen. The headmistress looked in even as Wintergreen for ome reason retrieved a basket and sippy-cup off the table, and then came back to her, carrying them.

"If you wouldn't mind, Miss Penelope, I'd like to take _her_ along with us, if it isn't a bother."

**End of Chapter Five**


	6. Chapter 6

**Well, here it is, Chapter Six. Got any questions once finished with it, don't worry, I'm sure they'll be answered by the next one ;). Thanks for all the reviews so far guys, appreciate it. **

**Chapter Six**

The headmistress stared at the child in the basket, who was still soundly asleep. She blinked a few times, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Then, slowly, she bent down to have her face level with the basket, and stared even more closely at the child. A small smile began to appear on her lips.

"She's adorable William, but wherever did you get her from?" Penolope knew well enough that Wintergreen had never been married, nor had any children. In fact, the closest relationship he had ever had with any woman was with... well, herself, but other than joking around about the ideas, they had never been exactly serious about it. So where exactly had he gotten the child from?

"Most regrettably, I found her last night on the doorstep of this very house, obviously abandoned by her previous caretaker." The Headmistress moved a finger inside the basket, and gently stroked the baby's face affectionately.

"Poor thing." she said sadly. The woman then turned to Wintergreen, smiling a bit more. "Well, I suppose it was good that she wound up on your doorstep then, with you to take care of her." Wintergreen nodded in reply, a small smile beginning to develop on his own lips. He then moved over to the door and opened it, standing at the side so that another could exit or enter.

"Yes well, she'll be taken care of now I think. So Miss Penelope, do you wish to leave now?"

The Hive Headmistress laughed a bit, smiling.

"Oh William, I suppose we should then." Wintergreen nodded, keeping his smile on even as the headmistress exited the door and walked down the steps leading to the sidewalk. He then followed her, keeping the basket over his one arm, and closing the door with the other. He quickly descended down the small flight of steps, and was soon reunited with the Headmistress, who nodded curtly even as the two then began to walk down the sidewalk together, side by side, with Wintergreen on the side nearest the buildings on the block.

The sun was already out, it being now still early in the day, but not so early that the sun had not poked its ways through the clouds, and illuminated the city below. The morning air from earlier had dissapaited, and only a gentle breeze now swept through the city. The headmistress took a few seconds every couple of minutes to look down at the tiny person hitching a ride with them, still asleep at the time of day. Wintergreen himself kept his arm steady the entire stroll even as the pair turned down corners, walked uphill and downhill, and occasionally crossed intersections, waiting for early morning traffic to pass, or sometimes forcing the drivers to wait themselves when the two pedestrians had the right of way. Every once and a while, a person or two walking by would curiously glance over at the pair, or more noticeably the small person with them. Wintergreen and Lord walked right by them though, chatting to each other nonconcernedly. The small baby of course, merely slept, unaware of any of her surroundings.

Finally, after what seemed a good hour or so of walking around the city, the elderly couple arrived at a small cafe in one of the quieter sections of the city. Wintergreen immediately pulled out a chair for the Headmistress to sit down in, before then moving to the other side of the table. He placed the basket containing the small child on a side of the table, nearest the store they sat outside of. Being in the quiet section of the city that it was, there weren't many people in the cafe, meaning the three would have more seclusion to themselves. Wintergreen then sat down himself at the table in the other chair.

"Well then Miss Penelope, I do hope you'll enjoy yourself today, considering our... guest." The headmistress laughed again to herself lightly, turning her gaze from Wintergreen to the baby. She smiled while staring at the child in its peaceful slumber.

"Not at all, I think I would have objected a bit earlier if I had wanted to. The only time children get on my nerves anyway is when you're trying to instruct them..." Wintergreen placed both hands on the table, one over the other, and looked over at her listening to each word. He was quick to respond though, picking up the hint.

"How does the Hive Academy go, currently?" he asked her. Lord turned away from the basket, and back towards her male friend. Her body position was quite similar to Wintergreen's in the chair, except for the small fact that her hands were placed in her lap, rather than on the table. The Headmistress shrugged in reply.

"Well, as soon as Sebastian came back from Steel City he tried to ursurp me like he did the last time... thanks again for letting me stay with you until he got thrown into prison..."

"Not at all, Miss Penelope, it was my pleasure. Good to see you were reinstated though. Did Blood try to do the same thing when he came back then?" The other person smiled a bit deviously before answering.

"Oh, he tried to, but the majority of the student body supported me this time, so... we had to compromise."

"Compromise? What was the deal then?" Wintergreen asked, his eyebrows picking up slightly. Lord shrugged again, thinking absentmindidly about the the agreement.

"Oh, just joint-rulership of the school system. Technically, he's in-charge again, and I'm just a deputy Headmistress now, but we basically are on even footing now with each other." Wintergreen nodded in satisfaction at the answer, alternatives certainly could have been worse than that. A waiter finally emerged from the small restaurant, and walked over to them.

"Good afternoon, sir and madam, can I get you anything to drink?" The waiter said first, passing out a menu to each person in the pair. Neither Wintergreen or Lord needed one, they had been coming here for several years now together, and knew exactly what they were going to order every time. They often joked to each other, that one day they would try something different, but that never seemed to happen.

"Black tea if you wouldn't mind." Wintergreen said, handing the menu back without even looking. The waiter wrote the order down quite quickly before then turning to the Headmistress and recieving her menu back as well.

"Coffee. Dark, with two lumps of sugar." The waiter wrote down her order beneath the first one, nodded to the pair, and almost began to walk back into the restaurant before he stopped himself. He then turned around again and came back up to them. He pulled out the pad and pencil, and used the eraser part to jab at the basket.

"Would you like anything for the baby, perhaps?" he asked the two. Wintergreen and Lord stared at the man, not sure of what to say.

"Uhm, do you... do you have anything for children here?" Wintergreen finally asked after an awkward period of silence. The man smiled at the question, as if it were obvious.

"Of course sir, we are a family restaurant after all." He handed Wintergreen back a menu, and for the first time in over a year, Wintergreen actually looked through it. If his memory served correct, the menu had sparsely changed. Still, some of the parts were new to him, as he had never paid any attention to them. He flipped a laminated page or two over, to get to the child's menu.

"Hmmm..." Wintergreen mused to himself even as he read down the menu. Most of the food on it seemed to be of the mushy and easy to swallow variety. Apple-sauce, ateamed and soft carrots and peas, various other berry sauces, and even just milk. Wintergreen took a bit to decide on the choices, with the Headmistress looking from him and to the baby on the table next to them. The waiter stood completely still the entire time, not showing any signs of impatience on his part. Finally, Wintergreen handed the menu, having picked what he thought best.

"Bring a small dish of apple-sauce for the child."

"Nothing for her to drink, sir?" The waiter asked, as if waiting for another order. Wintergreen moved his hand over to the sippy cup he had brought with him and picked it up, jiggling it a bit.

"Oh, we already have that covered, but thank you." The waiter nodded at the answer, his face frowning a bit, but nevertheless obeying. He turned and walked back into the restaurant, leaving the three alone. Wintergreen then turned back to Lord, who was still looking at the small child in the basket. He wondered why she was still looking at the child, she was quite cute, but if the baby woke up to someone just staring at her, it might frighten the child. A small cry then made itself heard, alerting Wintergreen to why she was still staring.

"William, hand me that cup." The headmistress spoke. Wintergreen quickly handed over the sippy cup even as the baby made it's awakening more noticed, making another half-cry, half-gurgle sound. Lord took the cup and set it down next to her on the table, taking her hands off of her lap. She then moved them over to the basket, and slowly with care, reached in and picked up the baby, taking it out. She moved her arms back to her chest then, and rocked the baby gently in her left arm even as she reached back onto the table, taking the sippy cup back into her hands. The small child looked at her holder, her wide eyes opened fully despite having just woken up. She then closed them slightly, and emitted another small cry, picking up her arms and waving them upward, as if trying toreach for something. The Headmistress smiled a bit sadly, moving the sippy cup over to the child's face even as she adjusted how she was holding her, to sit her up a bit better. The infant stopped crying almost immediately even as the Headmistress pressed the cup's spout to her small lips, and began to drink the beverage inside. Wintergreen watched as the baby's small face expanded and deflated rapidly even as she tried to suck on the spout, thinking it might get the drink to her faster.

"Poor thing, just a little hungry. I do hope the waiter comes soon, I don't think store-bought milk is enough for a growing child." Lord then said, smiling at Wintergreen. The gentleman nodded, having to laugh himself even as the small child put her hands on the lip of the cup, trying to hold the object herself. His gaze however however, then traveled up to the Hive Headmistress herself, who seemed to be enjoying the activity as much as the child being fed herself.

"Tell me, Miss Penelope, you haven't ever taken care of a child before, have you?" The Headmistress turned her look away from the child and over to Wintergreen. She tilted her head a bit while she looked back.

"Well, I did take care of my great-niece once or twice, but that was a while back." By this time, the waiter had returned with their selections. He deposited the two drinks with each respective buyer, and put the small dish of apple-sauce in front of the empty basket. He then took out a small piece of paper and placed it next to Wintergreen before leaving. Lord meanwhile took the sippy cup away from the small child, and moved her back into the basket, so as to feed her more easily. Wintergreen picked up his cup of tea meanwhile and began to drink it, even as he watched the Headmistress pick up the spoon from the small tray of liquified apples, and try to get a spoonful of it into the baby's mouth. The child at first craned her small head a bit away from the oncoming object, not sure of exactly what it was. Lord had to move it around a bit to catch her young curiousity.

"Come now dearie, it's just food, it's good for you." The Headmistress said in a slightly-sweetened version of her usual voice. Wintergreen took another small sip of his tea, continuing his watching of Lord's attempt to feed the baby. Eventually, through the trick of moving her other hand around behind in a wave and getting the child to laugh, she managed to shove the spoon in. After that though, she had no more trouble with the babe in getting it to eat, though getting the spoon back from the infant's small hands was another problem into itself.

Their shared chuckle was soon interrupted though.

_KAAA-BOOOOM!_

"What in Heavens?" Wintergreen said, standing up from his seat even as Lord went to comforting the baby, who had begun to cry at the loud and unexpected sound. She had grabbed the child and taken it back out of the basket, trying to rock her in the her arms. Wintergreen looked around quickly, trying to find the source of the upsetting noise. Being that they did live in a city continuously plagued by supervillians, it was to be expected things like this happening, but the section of the city that they were in was usually one of the more left-alone ones, mostly retirees living here. The type of stores and pharmacies here wouldn't generate a great deal of valuable objects.

Still, some villians needed to start somewhere... especially if beginning anew.

"Wha-WHOO! Now luck at all that pretty coin!" Billy Numerous yelped and hollered, even as three more of him helped carry out a large bag with a dollar sign on it. Wintergreen looked at the building the villian had just emerged from and saw it was a bank, making it one of the few major targets in this section therefore. Another small explosion followed even as another whole appeared in the bank's small walls, and more supervillians appeared from the gaps.

"Stinkin' ground-lickers!" Came a nazelly-high villian, screeching through the air on a back-mounted jetpack attached to his all-green jumpsuit. The bald midget of a child was then followed out of his hole in the wall by a much large teen, jumping out of the side while carrying more than his fair share of stolen loot. His all-black suit was crossed in several places by yellowish-gold bands, with small bumps adorned on them. He jumped down instead of flying out, his landing on the concrete street below causing would could be considered a mini-tremor. Two more people emerged after him, one with a similar in color costume, only with a shield strapped onto his left arm, and the other a smaller teen, with a large green device on his head which presented only one eye for others to see.

"Miss Penelope, don't you happen to know those teens?" Wintergreen leaned in to ask even as they began to run down the street in their general direction. The Hive Headmistress nodded in reply, standing up from her chair. The child in her arms had calmed down a bit, but still seemed very frightened, having taken the small hood that had been behind her head the entire day so far and pulling it messy-like over her head. The woman moved from the table, leaving behind her half-consumed drink, and marched out into the street. Wintergreen followed her, unsure of what she was going to do.

Then, with a momentary sucking-in of breath to get the necessary volume ready, she called out to them.

"_CHILDREN!_"Wintergreen moved his hand slowly up to his ear closest to Lord and jabbed a finger at it, just to make sure it was still working alright. The five teens immediately stopped what they were doing and looked over in the direction of the scream. Their faces plaed almost instantly as they saw who it was. Slowly, they made their way over to her.

"Uhh, hey Headmistress!" Billy Numerous called out nervously,. trying to smile at the same time. The headmistress did not return the gesture.

"Get over here, NOW!"

Slowly, the five teens dragged themselves over to her. They stood in front of their school mistress, almost cowing before her, even the two that dwarfed her in size. Billy Numerous rubbed his hands together slowly, one cupping over the other.

"Uh, Hive Headmistress, what a surprise to see you here today!" he said, trying to keep his voice sounding cheerful. The Headmistress stared down at him, her eyes half-closed. Numerous then looked back down at the street, unable to look her back straight in the eyes. The others followed his lead, not wanting to look up at the fearsome woman.

"What have you been instructed about in choosing targets in this city?" Lord then asked, shifting her arms only slightly, the child in them looking out from her appendages. She still held her hood over her head, with both tiny gray hands keeping it pulled down, but her eyes stared out at the teens, as if watching what they would do next.

"Well uhhh... yah'see, we were just kinda' low on cash, and thought it might be a purdy' good idea to hit a bank, then we'd have the dough rollin' in..."

"Did I not specifically instruct you that this sector of the city was off-limits for new supervillians?" The Headmistress then said in a firm voice. Billy Numerous immediately moved back again, bumping into another of him behind himself. Gizmo however, flew up next to her, his eyes looking from their former-instructer to the other man, standing near her.

"Say, why can't we commit crimes in this district anyway? What, you datin' him here?" Gizmo snided. Lord turned her neck sharply at him, causing the migdet to nearly fly backwards in an uncontrolled hurry. Her eyes seemed almost capable of burning holes into the green-suit wearing teen.

"This district is populated majorly by the elderly, and retirees, and the Hive Head_master_ has agreed with me that it is specifically off-limits to any newly graduated Hive students!"

"But," See-more than chimed in, his voice sounding confused. "We're bad guys, who cares who we rob?"

"Even if you are criminals and supervillians-in-training, you must still hold yourself to some conduct if you wish to be respected and feared!" Again though, See-more continued to stare at her with his one green eye, his mouth open a small tad.

"But, we're bad guys. Shouldn't all we care about is the loot?" The Headmistress let out a low growl, making See-More stand up straight even as he tried to inch himself away. The other Hive Five members seemed to frightened to do or say anything themselves. Mammoth in particular, seemed to quake in his very boots.

"Even with all the stolen 'loot' in the world if you don't a reputation, your career is wasted. Do you all need to go back to the Hive Academy, just to hear me lecture you on the importance of being known and feared, again?" With her last word she stared particularly at the small green clothing clad midget, and the giant teen in black. The Headmistress then straightened herself a bit, adjusting her arms once more. A small goo was then made, causing her to lose the recently-gained posture even as the others leaned in, to see what had made the noise.

"Izzat'-" Gizmo started off, his facial expression that of one just smelling something putrid.

"-a baby!" Mammoth then shouted out loud in his gruff voice, smiling and clasping his hands together. The other four teens and two doubles stared at him strangely for a second until he let his arms back down and changed his expression back. The teens then turned back, looking at the Headmistress. Her expression had lost most of it's vigor even as she turned down to the child, rocking it slightly.

"Yes Baran, it's a baby." she said, her voice returning to the pre-explosion tempo. One or two of the Hive Five members flashed a glance at her, eyebrows a bit perched. Lord flashed back her own hard stare, causing them to nearly jump back. The baby in her arms giggled at the feat, which then garnered a smile even as the Headmistress turned her attention back to her. See-more adjusted his headset, trying to get a better look at the child.

"Is that your grandkid, Hive Headmistress?" he then asked, finally getting a good shot of the babe. His eye rapidly shut closed and reopened even as the Headmistress turned quickly to him. One eye seemed to close in an attempt to form a menacing stare, though the other opened wide in shock at the comment. Wintergreen quickly ran over to her.

"The child is my ward, children." he said, saving Lord from trying to explain it. The others turned their heads to him, still confused.

"So, it's your grandkid?" Gizmo said, flying a bit closer to the child. He looked down at the babe, who tightened her grip on the tiny hood over her head, trying to pull it down more.

"Figures, snot cruncher's got the same pale skin, must run in the family." The Hive Five all burst into laughter from the last comment, Billy Numerous doubling himself several times without control, making the laughter only louder. The baby let go of it's hood a little, even as Gizmo rolled in the air once, grabbing his stomach in his own chuckling. Slowly, a tiny gray finger was raised, pointing in his direction.

"Gah..."

Suddenly, the machine on Gizmo's back glowed darkly, enveloped in an obsidian energy. The powers tugged at the machine, pulling him back through the air, his laughter interrupted even as he let out a scream. Then, he was launched high into the air, and brought back down all on the machine's own accord. Wintergreen looked at the other teen's faces, seeing all of them just as suprised as he was. Gizmo barely had any time to start screaming again even as he was then brought back down to the concrete before launched back up again, the machine still encased in the negative energy.

"Geh..."

"WOOOAHHHAHHH!" Finally, the machine's straps broke even as Gizmo was being pulled upwards. He began to fall back down to the earth, waving his short arms and legs in a futile attempt to slow himself down. The other Hive Five, now much more aware of their friend's plight, took of positions to try to catch the falling midget.

"Gibah..."

The jetpack suddenly soared down from it's continued ascension and swooped below the small teen, catching him moments before he would have hit the ground. The machine then landed gently on the ground, allowing the teen to disembark if he wished, though all around could tell from what had just happened, he was in no way ready to do that. Wintergreen stared, curiously, but not at the now-landed child.

But rather, the one in his friend's arms.

Her arm... had for the entire time followed the jet pack. And the strange energy overtaking the mechanical backpack, having just appeared. Truthfully, Wintergreen had only noticed the infant's activity with the final small noise she had emitted... but had that been simple playing... or...

No, this was a small, powerless child, not like his master's foes. She couldn't have done that, she couldn't even feed herself! It was just a strange coincidence, a child pointing at an amusing object and following it with a small finger, perhaps a stage in developing coordination, or just something small children did, not knowing better. Yes, just... something a child did, a mere coincidence.

"Hey partner, you awright'?" Billy asked, bending his knees to come closer to the dazed Gizmo. The midget quickly pushed his head up, shaking it even as the others stared. He turned to his other teammates, growling.

"Alright, which one of you mud bathers just messed with my jetpack!" All of the other teens put their hands out in front of them in a defensive gesture, or simply shrugged in reply, not knowing otherwise what to say. Gizmo looked around a bit wildly, trying to figure out who did it, if no one would pony up to it. The Headmistress then cleared her throat, stopping the small teen from continuing in his search.

"Now, if you wouldn't mind, return what you've stolen and go off to a section of the city that you _can_ steal from." Billy Numerous crossed his arms and tried to stand up as tall as possible, his chest extended out. As he did so, three more of him appeared, two on his left and one on his right.

"Aw, why should we? We all graduated from the big H.A., why should you still get to boss us around anymore?" The Hive Headmistress moved over to him slightly, still holding the child, and leaned in close to him, until their faces were bare inches away from each other.

"While you may have graduated from the _Hive Academy_, your base and equipment is still funded by the Hive. As long as the situation remains so, you will continue to abide by our rules. Therefore, if you do not return that money, than it better be enough to keep your base going for a very lone time." The extra Numerous doubles all folded back into the first, even as the teen villian smiled as innocently as he could, sweat beginning to pour down his forehead.

"Heh heh, ye-yes mam!"

Numerous then set a foot out, ready to get away as fast as he possibly could, and perhaps in as many directions as he could as well. But suddenly before he began to actually run away, he felt a small tug on the front of his suit.

"Geh..."

"Huh?" Billy Numerous muttered. He then looked down at his clothing, and saw a small gray hand protruding from the Headmistress. Only, it wasn't her hand or arm, but the person in thme.

"It seems the child has taken a liking to you, Mr. Hicksbe." The woman said, even as Billy Numerous tried to pull himself away from the infant's grip. The babe then let go, retracting her hand even as she made a few more inaudible sounds, her other hand still on her pulled-down hood. She looked up at the much larger person, who stared back.

"Why am I gettin' a sense of Deja Vu?" Billy Numerous then said, taking a closer look at the child, who continued to stare back at him, unaware of what he was trying to think. "Yep, there's definitely somethin' familiar here."

"A-hem." The Hive Headmistress cleared her throat again. Billy Numerous spent one more second staring at the child and without further ado, ran off towards the others, who were already carrying back the few sacks of money they had taken out. Wintergreen walked over to her, watching them as they crawled back into the holes they had made in the walls of the bank, and threw the bags back into the bank, amidst frightened employees and patrons. The Hive Five then turned back to Lord and Wintergreen, as if waiting.

"Well? Get going before the Titans show up now!" Lord yelled at them, causing the five members to nod and run down the street, intent on neither getting captured, or dealing with their former instructer anymore. After waiting a few more seconds to see if they would come running back for any number of reasons, and seeing that they would not, the Headmistress then turned to Wintergreen, who nodded politely.

"Would you wish to return to our small meal?" he asked, motioning back over to their table next to the restaurant. Lord was about to oblige, already setting a foot out to move over to the table, when suddenly a ringing tone sounded off.

"Oh, not now..." she said, trying to take an arm out of her support of the child to reach to one of her dress' pockets. Wintergreen moved his arms over, and with a small bit of difficult, picked the child up from her arms so that she could reach whatever was making the noise. Surprising Wintergreen somewhat, it turned out to be a cellphone.

"Hello? Oh, Sebastian, why are you calling now? ... Need me back at the Hive, has something happened, or... I see, alright, I'll be there shortly, try to hold the fort down until I get there then." Lord turned the phone after that, and put away. Wintergreen noticed her mouth sagged a bit, and her shoulders slumped slightly. She turned to him, not looking very pleased.

"Sorry William, but Blood needs me back at the school. Appearantly, some of the new students are causing some unexpected problems for him, his mind control not working on them it seems. Hope you don't mind."

"Not at all Miss Penelope. You go do what you must do, which is quite alright with me. Will you still be free next thursday then?" Wintergreen said back, assuringly to her. The Headmistress smiled, knowing now that Wintergreen wasn't disappointed in the abrupt ending to their already-interrupted day together.

"Of course, I'll see you there then." she replied a bit more happily. She then nodded, and turned away, already beginning her small trek back to the Hive Academy, wherever it's secret location was. Wintergreen called out to her from behind, juggling the babe in his arms even as she began to squirm.

"Oh, I beg to differ miss Penelope. Next time, I shall come to your house for you. No need for you to walk alone all this way again."

He could hear a small laugh come from her direction even as she walked off into the distance, waving her hand a small bit before putting it back down. Wintergreen stared after her, watching even as her legs moved the sleek figure away, clip-clopping across the surface of the sidewalk; her high heels propping her graceful feet up above it's grainy top. The sound of the walking seemed to hit something in the elderly butler's mind, as if a long-forgotten switch turned on.

The strength and confidence with which she carried herself, so fine, yet so conservative, so as to not stand out. Choice of clothing, perfect as well, keeping a sense of power and yet beauty at the same time in the gray fibers. Of course too, the hair that sat atop her fair head, so lovely in it's own nature, tightened into a short bun, not a single blade out of place.

And then... even from this angle, Wintergreen could picture her face perfectly. There was barely any sign of wrinkles or other signs of aging about her. Like her step, she herself had aged gracefully. The same though could not be said of himself. the lines of many years etched into his skin. Still though, her blue eyes like a nice stream color, unpolluted or clouded over. But below that, and her nose of course, were her lipstick laden-

A baby's cry interrupted the butler's thoughts, jerking him back to reality. He looked over swiftly to the source of the interruption.

"Waahhh-ahhh!" The infant in the basket cried out, obviously upset over something. She curled her arms back, bringing her tiny hands closer to her face. Wintergreen turned around, forgetting about his flight of fancy and concentrated instead on the child. He reached his hands underneath her small arms, picking her out and up.

"Whatever is the matter with you?" he asked, though not expecting an answer from one so young, yet still saying it out of habit. The baby continued to wail, even as Wintergreen searched for the answer.

Then, an unpleasent smell caught his smell. Wintergreen's nostrils turned upward a bit, even as he reared his head back away from the baby. Well, at least he had found out why she was crying...

"Oh dear..." he said, continuing to hold her up. He didn't have anything with him at the moment to change her with, and getting home would take a good while, just as long as it had getting here. Still... it was the only way he thought possible to get back quickly.

"Very well then..." Wintergreen then said, both to himself and the child. He reached into a breastpocket and took out a small amount of change, more than enough to pay for the meal, and reached over for the basket, taking that on one arm even as he kept the crying child in the other. Then, he broke off into a quick sprint down the sidewalk.

He hadn't done this for a while, but his old training served him well. Keeping his breath at a steady pace as he kept his right arm with the child steady, the baby having grabbed onto his shoulder and leaned her head onto it, still wailing. He moved quickly down the sidewalks, his dress shoes not biting at the sides of his old feet. Wintergreen ignored the pain however, and continued forward.

_BEEP-BEEP!_

Wintergreen looked to the side of the intersection he was currently running across. A car had just gotten the light, and the driver looked extremely irate for having been delayed even longer. The butler ran across as he was, never once breaking his stride to go any faster. He didn't wish to risk it; the activity still strenous, no matter how fit he may have been for many years before (though still a bit so). His breathing was kept at an even pacing, to keep the lungs from giving out to easily. The baby's cries were becoming a bit louder by the moment.

Even as he ran he began to attract stares. A person riding by on a bicycle looked over in his direction, forgetting to instead look ahead and thusly crashing into a mailbox on the side of the sidewalk. Wintergreen heard the thud from behind, but did not stop to look, instead choosing to keep up the level run. Stares also began to come from other pedestrians. Several young people watched, jaws somewhat sagging, even as he passed them by, before then bursting into laughter at the seemingly hilarious scene. Shoppers and customers in the shops and other restaurants along on the sidewalk also began to look out, their own curious gazes discarded by Wintergreen. All that was important was getting back to his house, his master's lair, and finding some more of his master's old children's relics.

"Yo' old dude! Look out!" Another bike rider screamed angrily, swerving just in time to not run into Wintergreen. The butler ignored the continued calls from behind, even as the rider yelled out profanities. His hand shifted a bit, moving the child in them closer to him.

More people then began to yell at the elderly gentleman as they got out of his way, jumping to the side and hugging the buildings or signs so as to not fall over from the sudden movement. Wintergreen almost replied back to them with apologies, but he couldn't risk taking his controlled breathing out of the equation. This run was something he hadn't done in a good while, and if that crucial step were to be taken out...

Well, it would take a great deal longer to get home, in the most optomistic lighting on the situation possible. And that wouldn't be very good for his "ward" at all.

He ran back into an intersection, the light seeming to understand his plight and changing as soon as he reached the end of the street. Several cars, in different shades and shapes, came to screeching stops even as the traffic light changed to a solid red from the waning yellow. However, like the one only minutes before, they too honked their horns at him, as if he had caused the light to change against its will. The noise started to gather even more stares at the servant, if that was possible.

"Just a bit farther..." he said, already seeing a familiar signpost up ahead. It would be only a few moments more, and then he'd be back into his house. Wintergreen kept staring straight ahead, the muscles in his legs beginning to strain against him, trying to slow down. Yet he kept staying his path all the while, closing in on his target. His shoulders ached, the distribution of weight having an effect on him now at a much different speed then before. He tried to move his hand only somewhat, to grab the child more, and hold her better. Running the distance instead of walking had certainly cut the time down from getting from the first point to the second, but had much more of a toll on him. Regardless, he was coming closer and closer to his master's hidden lair. He could already see in the distance the outline of the last corner before he reached his house's proper street.

A few kids had lined up on the side of the concrete, watching even as he was coming up towards them. They snickered at the image, finding an old man carrying a newborn quite humorous. One of the kids then moved a foot onto the side of the trash can he was standing next to and pushed it over. The metal barrel began to thusly roll downwards, and towards the elderly gentleman.

"Oops." one of the kids said, before laughing with a touch of sadisticness in his voice. Wintergreen continued running, even as the object came closer and faster by the second towards him. He was running uphill, and the can was going downhill. A collision on their parts was almost certain, unless WIntergreen broke the pace at which he was going. The noise of the barrel hitting the rough surface of the sidewalk, clanging and smacking it, was becoming louder and louder to him even as it picked up speed.

Then, with the agility that even Wintergreen himself doubted he still had in him, he stopped and bent his knees down to the Earth. The trash can was only a few meters away, and in any second he would've had to stop anyway. But his plan at the moment wasn't to stop his motion.

Rather, just a short transfer of it.

As soon as he had bent down, Wintergreen immediately pushed off, losing only milliseconds in his continued momentum. The teens watching the spectacle stopped their chuckling, and watched even as the elderly gentleman soared into the air, bringing up his knees close to his chest. For a few, if only very short seconds, even the child in his arm stopped crying, taking the short time to look around in the sky. The barrel below continued to roll down the rest of the downwards sidewalk, other pedestrians jumping out of the way, though none with the finesse of the butler. The elderly man landed after coming back down in an upside-down U-shaped movement. His polished shoes landing back onto the ground and bursting right back into his sprint. He passed by the teens, who nearly stepped back and into the streets as he flew by them.

Wintergreen turned the final corner, and within seconds he was back onto the porch he and the Headmistress had left only hours before. He quickly ascended the atairs, and with the flick of several keys to get to the fourth one, he opened the now-unlocked door, and came in.

But the run wasn't done yet completely. No time to rest, Wintergreen ran right up the stairs, skipping every other step in his fast pace. He was soon back in the upper hallway, in which he made it quickly over to the bathroom door. The butler opened the door in a quick fashion with his free hand, and closed it behind him as soon as he had brought his own self and the child into the room.

Then, without giving himself a moment of rest, he moved over to a small table in the room. The bathroom wasn't large, but it wasn't what one would consider small either. It contained that which many bathrooms would contain; a sink against the wall facing the outside; a small clothing basket for dirty wears next to the wall to the door along with a wastepaper basket next to it; a medium-sized white tub next to the wall sitting adjacent with the one behind the sink; a toilet next to the bathtub, made up of the same materials, seemingly-thin white concrete smoothed to the touch; and of course, a large wooden cabinet in the corner of the conjoining walls behind the toilet and waste basket. Wintergreen walked over to the open cabinet after dropping the empty basket at the door, reached into one of its many rows, and took out a plain white sheet. He placed the thin piece of paper on the basket's closed top, before putting the small child herself on the paper. She was still crying, her hood having been forgotten long ago on the run, and now resting behind her small head. Wintergreen went back to the cabinet and then bent down, going to the lowest shelf.

"They should be around here somewhere..." he said quietly to himself. Suddenly, he spotted what he was looking for, and went to grab them. He returned again to the table, and placed the newly-gotten diapers, wipes, and powder next to the child on the plastic. Wintergreen then took a second to look at the child, to figure out exactly what to do.

"Hmm, now how would I get you out of this peculiar outfit?" he said, again speaking to himself, being that he doubted the baby would understand him. Well, there was always one place to start. Wintergreen moved his hand over to the small brooch that connected to parts of her cloak and undid it, before taking the cloak away and placing it next to the child. He then picked her up again, and looked about at the small leotard. Whoever had dressed this child up certainly had a strange choice in clothing for children, to be sure.

"Ahh, there we go." Wintergreen spoke, his voice softer than before. He found a hidden zipper on the back and pulled it down, before taking the child out of her clothing. He put the now almost-naked child back onto the paper, and the leotard next to the cloak. The cries seemed to somewhat lessen in volume, but the elderly gentleman knew they would not completely end until he did the next step.

Slowly... but carefully, he took one one strap, and disconnected the side of the diaper from the rest. Then, again carefully, he pulled the disposable piece of clothing out from under her, folded it quickly and tossed it into the trash can next to him. He proceeded to after that cleaning her, holding the small legs up so as to not get them in the way. With the offending material gone and away from her, and her bottom cleaned, the crying had stopped, only to be replaced by the occasional small sound when Wintergreen made a sudden movement with her limbs.

With that done, the butler threw the dirtied-wipe away into the same wastepaper basket as the diaper, before reaching over for a fresh, cloth diaper. He lifted the child back up by her small, grey legs, and put the clothing underneath. Before connecting the straps to each other with the pins already inserted in the sides, he took the bottle of powder and with a few quick jerks, applied it to the child's rump.

An appreciative giggle met his old ears even as hetook the bottle away, and moved to attach the sides of the cloth. After doing that, he slipped the infant back into the miniature leotard, and reattached the cloak around her neck. He then picked her up, and held her face-to-face with him.

"There we go. Feeling all better now?" he asked the child. Like all the other times before, he didn't expect a sensible answer. But seemingly, the child obliged and replied with an inaudible giggle. The old butler smiled, before lowering the baby to a slightly easy to hold position. It was then that he noticed however, the sweat dripping from his forehead. He moved the child to just one arm as before, and wiped at his balding skin with the backhand of the other.

"Oh my." he said, a bit surprised at the amount of sweat that had culminated. He moved over to the sink, taking a small towel from the cabinet as he went. The faucet turned easily on as his hand moved it to the left in a circular direction. Cold water gushed out of the spout, and pooled in the bottom of the sink's bowl. Wintergreen tossed the washcloth into the water, and then pulled it back out. He wiped at his forehead, a few trickles of water coming down, crossing the deep etches in his skin unil they seeped into the clothing below. His breath was heavy as well, he had hardly noticed that at all until now, his worries for the child obviously taking his attention from elsewhere.

Wintergreen put the washcloth down on the side and placed his palm on the flat surface of the sink. The run had tired him out a great deal more than he had realized, it seemed, and perhaps... a small rest was in order. Slowly as before, Wintergreen lifted himself up from the counter, and made his way back over to the door. His legs now felt like weights, the pain of the stress he had put on them taking its toll now. His arms likewise, wanted to drop to his sides, let go of anything he was carrying at the moment, and just rest. But he ignored the pains and aches, and continued forward. Picking up the basket and placing it on his other arm, Wintergreen opened the door back to the hallway. He walked in the small seperation of the bathroom and his own room, his head sinking a bit lower than usual. He tried to correct it, and stand up as straight as possible, but the pains of the day tried in counter to pull him down, and keep him there. Finding a small compromise, Wintergreen kept his body at that, and reached his own room's door.

He quickly opened it and entered, the slight creaking noise it made as the hinges worked their jobs making itself heard. He ignored the sounds, and walked into his room. Getting over to the wicker chair, he placed the basket in it, so that it faced his bed. Then, he took the child out of his arms, and placed her in the basket as well, fastening the covers over her even as the child looked up at him, her eyes round and wide, her tiny grey hands gripping the edges of the cover. He turned then, and and was about to head over to his bed when something panged in his head. He looked back at the child, and reached with a gloved hand back into her basket. With two fingers, he gripped the edge of the child's hood, and pulled it over her forehead.

He smiled as the infant giggled in appreciation, and moved her own small hands to the fabric, pulling it even tighter playfully. The butler smiled, and with that, began to move over to his bed. He sat down on it, finally allowing his shoulders and legs to rest. He pulled off his dress shoes, not wanting to dirty his sheets, and positioned himself a bit better on the mattress, so that his body went in the same direction as the bed itself. He propped his head up on the pillows, so he could look back at the child, who was still preoccupied with making noises with her mouth, and tugging on her headware. He relaxed a bit more at the sight, his appendages demanding such.

A thought however, occured in the elderly man's head. What was he doing in bed at this time of day? So he had run a few miles to get back to his living quarters and take care of a child, so? That was barely nothing compared to what he used to do in the army. This should have been nothing. And besides, he should be up at the moment, catering to Master Slade's whims, at his side for any order. Why therefore, was he in bed at the moment, day off or not? Even reading one of his books from his collection in the other room would be better, sitting downstairs in the parlor next to the fireplace, than just lying in bed, falling asleep.

But then... he wasn't still young and chipper, was he? It was bit humbling to recognize that, after such a brisk run of several miles, that he would require such. His youth was over with it, it had been for a quite a while now, and no matter or arguing with himself over that was going to change the fact. He'd known that for a while now, after all, and this wasn't the first time he had faced it. Still, had running all that way, only to now be able to do anything at the moment for himself, or Master Slade, worth it? Had for the moments of running, thinking he could such so easily, been worth now lying up here, too tired to get up and stroll about the house, cleaning or cooking something?

A small giggle met his ear. Wintergreen focused his eyes back on the basket, and to the small child in it. She had finally wiggled her arms up from out of the covers completely, and was pointing them towards the cieling. The elderly butler smiled at her, his eyes beginning to relax a bit, and his muscles lessened in intensity. Sleep, something that at this time of the day he had often thought improper was already coming onto him, regardless of his previous thoughts on it.

Yes, it had been worth it, after all.

**X X X**

With how the chambers had been built in this lair, it was in a state of perpetual night.

But that was alright, Slade perferred it that way.

He stood on a platform, clear of all the pipes and beams that surrounded the metal island. A small control panel that had come up through the floor was situated in front of him, with several buttons and knobs on it. A huge screen, one of five in fact, was on the wall the supervillian faced. It was the only one activated though, as per Slade's command to the inanimate object. He moved a hand onto the small control panel, and pressed a button.

As soon as he had done so, an image of the Teen Titan, Raven, appeared on the screen, devoid of her cloak. Her pose was a generic one, the only importance being the figure herself. Slade then pressed another button on the panel, bringing up the image of a basket containing the infant that Wintergreen no doubt still had with him. He flipped a switch on the board then, the basket dematerializing along with the covers, bringing only the infant onto the screen along with the teen figure.

"You know, I'm a bit surprised I didn't connect the dots any sooner." Slade spoke to no one. He moved his hand to another button, and punched it in. The two figures' images glowed on screen, even as they changed, from an outward appearance to one of a black outline, with nothing but green imagery inside them. DNA brackets, the intertwining braces, then appeared in each figure, swirling together in exact symmetry.

"But I had to be certain this wasn't just a very big coincidence, or a case of one of the Jump City's 'heroes' being promiscuous." He moved his hand then to the bottom of the panel, and flipped a final switch. The two DNA brackets on screen then began to move across it, until they collided. However, instead of doing such, or different colors overlapping, they connected like an image cut in two, connecting perfectly.

A match.

"Imagine my surprise, when a Titan is found living under my roof." Slade added, watching as the DNA brackets continued to swirl on his screen. The images of the two figures faded back into the two people, now identified by the archfoe as one in the same. It hadn't been easy, to find a hair, especially from a newborn, but he had done it, and the tests from past "samples" gotten from the other Titans had confirmed it. The luck of such was almost too good to be true to the villain.

First with Robin, then with Terra. Both had been failures. But Slade realized where he had went wrong. Both of his past apprentices had had considerable influence on them before he had gotten to them. But this one, a Titan somehow shrunken back to an infantile stage, was much more appealing. It was a fresh mind, one he could mold to his very whim, influence completely and solely by himself.

Not to mention, had inborn powers complementary to his own skills.

It was the perfect chance, and Slade wasn't going to let it slip through his fingers, even if those fingers would have to hold onto it for over a decade.

Thank God Wintergreen had convinced him to let the child stay.

**End of Chapter Six**


	7. Chapter 7

**Note:Sorry for the long wait, but here it is, finally. Hope you enjoy it. **

**Chapter Seven**

The Hive Five walked down the sidewalk. A few of them dragged their feet, and other simply stared down at the concrete they walked on. Every once and a while one of them would look at the others as if to speak, but immediately put his head down before he tried. After a few minutes of walking, the lead teen turned left, and entered an alley off the sidewalk. The other teens almost unamiously followed him, except for Mammoth, who had to be caught and pulled in by Private Hive.

The group kept going, moving down the dank passageway. The bricks were covered in grime, and the few windows on either side were either broken or had blinds drawn up. Mammoth walked, his shoulders nearly touching both sides of the alley. Gizmo and Seemore were able to walk next to each other, being small enough, but Private Hive like Mammoth also had his own small row inbetween the three. Gizmo kicked at a tin can as he kept walking, cursing under his breath.

"...Stupid old headmistress messing up our plans... old farts and their dumb money..."

"Come on Giz', not like we can't find another bank to rob." See-more said, shrugging. Gizmo looked at him and grumbled some more, before turning away again.

"The Titans are probably going to be searching for us though, we may just want to get back to headquarters for a while." Private Hive spoke up, looking at the pair. The two turned back to him, and for a moment thought on what he said.

"I don't know though, shouldn't they already be here if they were coming? They usually are when we're commiting a crime." Mammoth replied from behind him. Private Hive nodded after a few seconds, before shrugging himself. Billy Numerous stopped and rubbed his chin, thinking.

"Big fella's got a point there. Every time we pull a heist, the Titans are always there like mud on a pig. So where are they now?" He turned back to look at the other members present, who all joined in a collective shrug. BIlly Numerous turned his gaze to the dirty ground, and sighed.

"Well then, come on. We might as well find some otha' bank to stick up." Smiles lit up on all of the other's faces, and the Hive teens began to walk faster behind Numerous. Not out of a show of respect or possible leadership for the red-tights wearing southern-exchange student; there wasn't really any leader of the Hive Five anymore; but just because there wasn't that much room to pass him up.

A sucking noise suddenly made itself heard to their left. The five teens stopped and turned to the brick wall, trying to see what made the sound. A swirling mass of black and purple was growing, larger and larger.

"Woo-ah!" Gizmo screamed, falling to the side of the alley. He slid up against the wall, staring as the vortex finally stopped, and two figures jumped out of it. Two sets of boots, one black and the other red, landed on the dirty ground. Gizmo recovered after a few seconds as the portal disappeared, and closed his mouth. He stood up, grumpily. "And where were you!" he asked, jabbing an accusing finger at the pair.

The male of the two shrugged underneath his black cloak. Underneath that he seemed to wear a purple shirt and pants, seperated only by a pair of black tights around his pelvic area. A gray medallion connected the cloak at the upper part of his chest. His head was covered almost completely except for his face, with two ear-like fins sticking out of the top. A pair of red eyes shined out from his face, with a small nose and mouth beneath them.

The other person's outfit with him was very different. She wore a short blue skirt with a red sleeveless blouse. On either forearm was a silver brace, matching the belt around her waist in color. The only real similarity was her head was covered as well, but with a metal helmet instead of cloth. Her eyes glowed a yellow tinge, and a bit of black lipstick was applied to her lips. The strangest thing that the girl had however were the wings on her back... almost like an angel.

Kyd Wyykyd and Angel Girl simply stared at Gizmo, who grumbled as See-More helped him up. Billy Numerous slapped the dark-clothed teen on the back however, grinning.

"Ah, give Kyd' a break, Gizzy. I'm sure he was just scoutin' out another bank for us, right Wyk'?" The silent teen nodded to the other teen, a grin of his own growing. He gestured a gloved hand back to the wall behind him, and a portal reappeared on its surface. The other Hive Five members stared at it for a few moments before following themselves until Angel Girl stepped back into it. See-More however waited until the others entered and disappeared. A hand went up to the dial on his headgear, and he began to move it around.

_'Hive Headmistress and that old guy, carrying that... kid. What was up with that? Just some relative of hers? And the way she looked...'_

"Hey, are you coming or what?" Gizmo called out to him, almost ready to step into the portal. See-More stopped what he was doing, and turned to the short teen. The eye in his headset blinked stupidly, before he answered.

"Just lookin' at something."

"And what is it, your mom?" See-More rolled his eye at the statement, the pupil disappearing at the top of his visor, before reappearing from the bottom.

"You gotta' come up with some new material, Giz."

"Whatever, now just come on!" Gizmo shouted, putting a foot into the portal before being sucked in completely. See-More shrugged before beginning to walk up to the portal, and going in himself. He thought a bit more just as he stepped out into the main hall of another bank, passing a terrified teller.

'_Good thing I took pictures of her though. Have to show them to Numerous later, I think he saw something weird about that baby too. Eh, I'll ask him after we finish this robbery though, and make some dough.' _

It sounded pretty good to him.

**-T-**

Penelope pushed open the doors in front of her and walked past them as they swung to an eventual halt. Her heels click-clacked on the smooth surface of the room's floor, loud enough to cause an echo. She sighed, looking around at the somewhat-ruined classroom.

There were several benches overturned behind the long files of tables to her left. Probably from just students who had gotten up too quickly and ran when the experiment first went afoul. She turned to then look at the front of the classroom. The usual chalkboard hung on the back wall, with a metal desk in front of it. Or rather, what was left of the desk.

Whatever experiment the Hive Academy students had been doing with Blood had already managed to eat through the tabletop and to the floor, where it was still hissing. She stared at the volatile liquid for a moment, keeping her clipboard over her chest.

_'What exactly does Sebastian want me to do? Clean up the students' mess? I'm the Deputy Headmistress, not a janitor!'_ The grip on her clipboard tightened, but she released after a few seconds. _'Better to just get this cleaned up rather than standing around and having Sebastian come down like an idiot.' _

The Headmistress walked down the rest of the steps to the teaching floor and moved over to the wall with the chalkboard on it. She moved a hand up to a small grey panel on the wall, and pressed a red button sticking out. There was silence for a few moments, before static began to cackle.

"Yes?" A voice suddenly came on, slightly-computerized.

"This is Headmistress Lord." Penelope replied, holding the button down. She had always wished they could get a better com-system at this place, the more the years dragged on the more problematic these ones became.

"Yes, Hive Headmistress?"

"Contact and send student 1029 to classroom A-27."

"Affirmative Headmistress. Contacting student now. Should be there in a few minutes."

"Thank you." The Headmistress spoke, releasing the red button. Another spark of static was made before the connection broke again. She turned her back to the wall and rested against it, waiting. Perhaps it would be a good idea to visit Blood after this, and straighten a few things out...

After a few minutes the doors swung back open. Penelope looked up, and saw the student she had ordered here at the top of the staircase. He looked by all accounts like any normal teen, so much in fact he looked out of place with the other students. He wore a simple pair of black jeans with a shirt in matching colors. His hair, also black, flowed in long locks which went down his back. He had green eyes, and a rather mischievous smile sat on his lips.

"Ah, Mr. Forrestor." The Headmistress said to him, even as he descended down the staircase. He stopped a few feet in front of her. Penelope put the clipboard into one hand, and with her right pointed to the acidic mess. "Use your powers to clean that up if you would." Forrestor nodded, turning to the hissing puddle.

His eyes in only seconds suddenly took on a yellowish-green color. He opened his mouth, and obsidian energy flowed out. It shot into the acid, and within moments had wrapped itself around the liquid and picked it up from the floor. Forrestor flashed his eyes over at the Headmistress, his mouth still hanging open with the energy coming out. She stared at it for a few moments before deciding what to do next.

"Dispose of it in that can over there, Eric." she said, pointing to a bin in the corner of the room with a radioactive symbol painted on its side.

The student nodded, the gesture a bit stranger with his mouth as it was. He walked sideways, using his powers to carry the liquid over to the disposal can, and around the runined desk. Every couple of seconds, the black energy jiggled back and forth, like it was about to dissipate. But Forrestor was able to hold it long enough to manuever over to dump the dangerous mistake. For a few seconds it continued to hiss as it spilled into the can, but eventually whatever was in it neutralized the acid. The Headmistress thought she actually heard a spraying noise from inside.

_'Probably water.'_

She turned back to Forrestor, who rested against the first desk row, breathing slowly. She got off the wall and walked over to him, smiling.

"Excellent work Mr. Forrestor. You'll get a extra credit for cleaning up this mishap. Now report back to your dormitories." Forrestor nodded, putting a grin on himself before standing on his feet, and running back up the staircase. Penelope's eyes narrowed a bit as they followed him. She really didn't like Forrestor at all. Something about his personality...

But there wasn't time at the moment now to think on him, or his hijinks with other students. That could be later with proper records in front of her.

The Headmistress took a step forward and began to ascend the stairs again herself. She reached the top quickly and pushed her way through the doors. The hall was empty right now, a bit strange that there weren't any students around. But then, it _was_ going onto lunch, so it wasn't that peculiar. She left the doorway after a second or two, and took a right.

To most newcomers to the Hive, it was very easy to get lost in all the hallways and stairs, leading to dozens of different rooms and classes. In fact, she had once joked with William that it was probably impossible on anyone's first trip _not_ to get lost without someone helping. But by now with over a decade running this school, she had learned the entire layout of the school by heart, despite how many times it had to be rebuilt. In less than a quarter of an hour, she was able to reach the Headmaster's office at the far end of the complex.

She knocked twice before pushing the doors open herself. A black and gold robot, built in the same design of one of Jump City's teen protectors, turned to look at her. Penelope took a card out of her pocket and shoved it into the machine's face, letting it scan her identification. After a few seconds the robot stepped aside, and let her pass. She put the card away a little roughly, the encounter always annoying her. Second-highest authority figure in the whole school and she _still_ needed to present Identification to be permitted to see Blood. Sometimes, he seemed to be just in league with Wintergreen's master in paranoia.

The thought brought a smile to her face, even as she reached the end of the short hallway and came to a large pair of black and yellow doors. Like most of the ones in the school, a giant "H" was stylized on its front. The Hive Headmistress slammed a button on the wall-mounted console to her right. The doors suddenly slid open, and she walked in to the Headmaster's private chambers.

The room itself was just as Penelope remembered it. Large, with an air of arrogance everywhere. One wall held all sorts of weapons and blades (probably never used), and the other dozens of framed pictures (Probably taken with threat of force). A chandelier hung from above, providing with artificial lights all the illumination that was needed. A monitor was placed on the wall directly across from her. The Headmaster sat at a large desk leaning over papers, towards the back of the room. Lord raised an eyebrow.

_'Sebastian doing work? That's new.'_

As if he could read her mind Brother Blood looked up at her, putting a hand on the frames of his reading glasses.

"I'm doing work, Lord."

"I can notice that, Sebastian." Penelope replied coldly, moving over to a chair in front of his desk. She sat down, crossing her legs.

"Then can you tell me why you're here?"

"Oh, I was just wondering what _compelled_ you to have to call me to fix up that mess in the room A-27. You know, I was thinking when you told me the problem was that some students weren't being obedient that they were perhaps destroying the school or something, not making a mess in class." Sebastian sat still, his finger tapping.

"... And?"

Penelope's eyes widened for a second before she regained control, hiding the little bit of shock exposed. And? And! He interrupted her day off for a trivial cleanup and had nothing else to show for it? Was he trying to just rile her up or something? The Headmistress took a few seconds to calm down. Getting angry would probably only just serve to amuse Blood, anyway.

"I'd just like to know why something so easily-solved required my presence is all." Penelope asked him, keeping a straight face. Brother Blood continued to stare at her, keeping a hand on his reading glasses.

"I mean," she continued, "It was just a spill after all, you could have just called down Forrestor yourself, or maybe some other student to deal with it. I don't really see why I was needed here, on my day off."

"When you spend it meeting with the enemy's servants, your time is better spent here for the school." Blood replied dully, going back to his papers. Lord sat there for a few seconds, thoughts churning in her head at his blunt accusation. Fratenizing with the enemy? Of all the _nerve_...

"Wintergreen is a dear friend of mine, and my time spent with him shouldn't be under any suspicion at all. And what are you doing watching me on my day off at any rate?"

"I'm the Headmaster of the Hive, do you really think I don't have intelligence operative for everyone who goes here when they leave the premises?" The Headmistress cursed under her breath. She shouldn't have been so surprised by the idea of doing it, she had herself on a number of occasions when in charge, even if it was just on the pupils. Still, all the other times she had been with Wintergreen out in the city, and this time it causes a problem? No... there was something else to this, definitely... Penelope cleared her throat a little, and gathered her thoughts. She then spoke.

"I've been with Wintergreen before however, and you never saw a problem with that, or called me back here to clean up a science accident. So what makes today fratenizing?"

Brother Blood stopped reading his papers, and put them down in front of him. He then rolled his chair back a little, and moved to the side, letting the Headmistress see the monitor behind him completely unhindered. Sebastian hit a button on a small panel built into the armrest of his chair. The screen flashed for a second, before it blinked to life. Penelope rested her head in the palm of her hand, and slouched a bit. She could already guess what she was about to see...

_'Why is this not surprising...'_

A poorly-shot picture overhead picture of her and Wintergreen showed up. They seemed to be standing in the middle of the street, from ealier today. Ahead of them was the Hive Five children. There didn't seem to be any audio feed, but Penelope could guess that she was yelling at the moment, from how the teens were reacting. The camera however focused on her mostly, zooming in every few seconds. Within a minute of watching, it had almost focused entirely on her, only a slice of Wintergreen's head at the bottom.

"You'll have to forgive Vicki for this, she's new to the job." Blood said, amusing himself at the faint apology. Lord continued to watch, shifting her elbow on the armrest for a little more comfort. The video didn't really seem to show much else than the back of her clothing. She flashed a glance at Sebastian, who put both sets of his fingertips together in a spider-like way, drumming them against each other. She made a small noise of annoyance before turning back. After a few seconds the camera person had finally moved over to the side, no longer video-taping her back. Instead... the camera was now focused on her arms...

...Or at least who she had been carrying.

"Relative of yours?" Sebastian asked her, stopping the video on that frame. Lord looked at him, almost disbelievingly.

"You brought me back here... because of a baby?"

"Not just any baby Deputy Headmistress... a very peculiar baby."

"And why's that? Because of how she's dressed?"

"Not just that. I would have dismissed it if all I had was clothing to go on. Those Titans probably already have a merchandise line. But there was this next scene..." The screen began to play again, and Lord watched intently. She didn't notice anything really strange, the baby was moving one of its arms a little, but nothing serious. The camera however zoomed out almost as soon as the baby had started doing it. She barely could see what was going on, nothing really seemed different about the scene... except that Gizmo was gone. He reappeared quickly from he top of the screen, before disappearing again as he flew up, just as she remembered.

"Notice it yet?". Blood asked her.

"That Gizmo's jump-pack malfunctioned? Yes, I certainly noticed it."

"No!" Brother Blood shouted. He stopped the tape and rewinded it, before letting it play again. Lord watched as Gizmo flew right back into the frame, before flying right out again. She shrugged, tilting her head at the image. "Didn't you catch it?"

"All I can see is some kind of interference coming out of Gizmo's technology." She sat up a bit more in her seat. "What do you see exactly?"

Brother Blood stared at her for a few seconds. He then turned to the console in his chair's arm, and hit several buttons. The television screen blinked out for a few moments, before returning. The Headmistress watched as a new clip began to play. She easily recognized the combatants, flying and jumping across the screen.

The Teen Titans.

They seemed to be fighting other teens at the moment, however. The view kept shifting between them. First on the green changeling, who had just taken the form of a skunk. There was a blur on the screen as two identical figures dressed in white ran up behind him, only to collapse and skamper away seconds later. The camera then switched, focusing on two girls flying through the air, chasing each other. One of them seemed to be holding weapons of some kind, with electricity coming off of them.

"I've already seen the Titans in battle footage." Penelope said to Sebastian, continuing to watch the video anyway. Blood grinned at the comment, taking his gaze off the screen for a second.

"Then you'll know who the camera is focusing on next."

She watched as the camera's view now came onto another pair of teens fighting. One of them was dressed in a sleeveless red shirt, a quiver of arrows on his back. He swung down hard from over his head with his bow, his opponent bringing her forearm in front of it. Lord sat unemotional as a small shield of blackish energy developed right in front of the bow, stopping it from connecting. The boy jumped back, trying to strike at the cloak-wearing girl from another angle. She repeated the motion however, stopping the attack again in the same way.

The screen suddenly went black as Blood moved his chair back under his desk. He faced Lord, resting his chin on his curled fingers.

"So... tell me Penelope. Now do you see anything strange about the previous scene now?"

The Headmistress took a moment before answering. There _was_ a certain similarity in the two scenes. And Gizmo's jump-pack didn't truthfully seem to have any electrical problems emitting from it, it actually seemed quite solid... Still though, that wasn't much...

"Well?" The Headmaster asked, raising his eyebrows. He put his hands out in front of him, keeping his grin up. Lord sat for a little longer, straightening herself up. Then, she replied.

"I still don't see what you're trying to get at here. Some sort of connection between the cloaked-girl and Wintergreen's ward?"

"Exactly!" Blood replied, slamming his fists onto the desk. "That's what I'm trying to get at! The little child in your arms conjured the same power as Raven of the Titans did, and except for an age difference look exactly alike, even in clothing!"

"But Sebastian, you _did_ say the Titans probably have merchandise. It's not too hard to believe that some poor mother might have gotten that clothing for her child before she put her up on William's doorstep."

"Do you _honestly_ believe that? And even if that's true, how do you explain the skin color, the hair? Even you have to admit it's simply not plausible to be another person!"

"Oh, it's completely plausible. Perhaps the mother was just a bit more into dressing her daughter up like a Titan than we'd think. And besides, what about the age discrepency? You have a scene with a teenaged-girl, and another with an infant. Do you have any explanation for that?"

"That Titan girl practices magic!" Brother Blood screamed, jumping up from his desk. Penelope allowed herself a small smile. She stood up from her chair, keeping her hands in front of her.

"Isn't that so convenient?" she asked, letting the smile grow. She could hear Brother Blood growl, but he made no other moments. She then nodded to him, and began to leave. Sebastian spoke out to her just as she had reached the door.

"Even if you will not do anything to help, that child _will _become my star pupil." Penelope turned back to him, seeing he had still not moved from his previous stance. She only let her smile grow larger, taking a backwards step out of the room.

"You do that Sebastian, and when the girl professes no powers, I'll be glad to take her right back to William."

**-T-**

"AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH--"

A large thud-like sound interrupted the scream. The three male teens twitched at the noise, even as the room vibrated slightly. Robin could just barely then make a muffled moan, before the screaming started again.

"PLEASE STOP HURTING ME! PLEASE STOP--"

This time glass could be heard shattering, followed by an animal-like roar. Cyborg leaned over and tapped Robin on the shoulder, shuddering from the screech. Robin looked over at him, covering his ears just as Doctor Light began to scream for the countless time since they had been here.

"You think _now's_ a good time to stop her before she tears Doctor Light up?" Robin's narrowed his eyes at the reminder. They had been here longer than they should have, and ever minute they stayed and didn't do anything was another minute that something dangerous could happen to Raven. He couldn't wait any longer, especially if they still wanted Doctor Light to be able to talk.

"I'll try." he said grimly. It was going to be hard, but it was the only option available. Cyborg and Beast Boy both nodded to him, and moved over to the refridgerator that blocked the doorway. Robin watched as they moved it away, creating an opening for him. He took in a deep breath, and then, walked past it and into the other room.

Almost immediately he heard glass crack as he put his foot down. He moved to the wall where the carpetting was probably the cleanest, and slowly edged his way more and more into the room. Even his boots were steel-tipped, he didn't want to take any chances. He could make out Starfire in the room, her green energy almost _burning_ from her eyes. They seemed to stoop down for a second. Robin could hear a moan being made, and some broken trinkets shifted about a little.

"Ru maka gethorku!" The Tamaranean shouted savagely, just as Doctor Light's voice began to increase in volume.

"Starfire, stop!" Robin shouted. The two green glowing orbs in the darkness suddenly turned around. Something made a thudding noise, and Doctor Light moaned again. Starfire seemed to blink for a second, her energy flashing, before her eyes stopped glowing completely.

"Robin?" she called out, her voice sounding confused. Robin tried to move around in the room, walking closer to her with slow steps. He felt something crack underneath the soles of his boots again, but he tried to ignore it. The boy wonder reached his arms out in front of him, trying to feel before he bumped into her.

"Starfire, we have to--" He suddenly felt something soft against his hands. He stopped in mid-step, not knowing what to do. Oh please, let it not be her--

"Robin, you have... grabbed onto my face." Starfire said genuinely. Robin simply stood there, as if frozen. Light suddenly shined into the room, momentarily blinding the two before anything could be done.

"Awww, isn't that sweet BB?" Cyborg said, bending down to fit through the doorway, he slid his metal foot across the carpeting, kicking a mess of glass and wood out of his path. Beast Boy followed him, his face illuminated enough by Cyborg's shoulder lights to let Robin and Starfire see his smirk. After a second or two Robin took his hand away from Starfire, glaring daggers at the other two.

"Let's get over to Doctor Light." he said, hunching his shoulders up as Cyborg and Beast Boy kept up their grins. Cyborg turned in the room, shining his light over into the one corner. Doctor Light was lying on the ground on his stomach, his costume torn up all over his body. He sported several cuts and bruises along his exposed skin, and for the most part looked to Robin to be drifting between a state of unconsciousness.

There wasn't a lot of time then.

The teen detective moved over to the downed villain, and stooped next to him. He grabbed Light by the one shoulder, pulling him up a little. Starfire gravitated over behind Robin, staring at the man.

"Wha-wha..." The inept robber began. Robin noticed several teeth were missing from his mouth. He shook Light once, focusing in on him.

"Light, tell us where Raven is." Doctor Light took a few seconds to register the question. He stared at Robin, before gazing at the other Titans. Robin could actually feel him shiver when his eyes traveled to the Titan behind him, until he settled back to looking at the leader.

"I... I don't... I don't know!" he finally shouted out after a few moments of silence. Robin nearly lost his grip on the man's clothing.

"How can you not know? You were the last one with her!" Robin shouted back incredulously. Doctor Light began to shake, his remaining teeth clattering.

"I just... I don't know where I left her!"

"I told you Star's beating was going to mess this up!" Cyborg yelled, disbelieving what he was hearing himself. Robin glared at Cyborg for a moment, before returning to the villain. He inched his face closer to Light's before wrinkling his nose a bit, the man's sweat giving off a bad stench. This couldn't be happening...

"You have to think Light. I don't think Starfire could have beaten you into forgetting it. Think, _where did you leave Raven?"_

"Some old house!" Doctor Light responded, his voice rising in pitch. When he saw the answer hadn't satisfied Robin, he kept going. "It was down the one street, far away from here."

"That does us a lot of good." Beast Boy said, staring at something on the ground. Robin gritted his teeth. There was no way with this information they could find Raven. All it did was eliminate corner houses, and they weren't going to be able to get search warrants for every house in the city that was on a street! he shook Doctor Light, this time more roughly.

"You need to be more _specific_. Do you remember the address? How you picked the house out maybe?" Doctor Light kept shivering, staring straight up into the Boy Wonder's face. He mouthed silently, as if trying find the answers to say. After a little however, he began to speak in a small voice.

"Three lefts at corners, two rights at corners, straight for two blocks, third house on your right can't miss it." Robin looked at him for a few more seconds, seeing if he'd say anything else. He felt the resistance from Doctor Light cease however, and let him go back onto the carpet. He stood up, and turned to Cyborg.

"Did you get that all down?" he asked, not looking at all happy at the information.

"Got it all down to an audio clip. I don't think it'll be much help, but it's better than nothing.' Robin nodded, clenching his hands again before releasing them again. Doctor Light was out now, and there wasn't going to be any more information they could get out of him, probably. The answer was just too _vague_ to really work with. There could be hundreds of places they could reach by going left at the corner three times, or right twice, or even walking two straight blocks forward! But... there was nothing else to work with, nothing else to go on. Either they tried to just use the general directions, or they searched the entire city, starting in this apartment building. And by then... Raven could already be gone, taken away by whoever had her.

Probably was by now, anyway.

_'No... I can't think like that. Raven's somewhere in this city. And if we're going to have to take every possible chance with these directions, and turn each of those houses inside out. We _have_ to.'_

"Alright." Robin said. "Start fanning out. If we split up, we can find the right path with those directions faster.

"Let's get back Raven."

**-T-**

"Oh... dear..."

Wintergreen stiffled a yawn as he sat up in bed. He blinked a few times, his vision swimming back into focus. The white walls of his room solidified, connecting with the wooden floorboard. He slowly moved his foot over the side of his bed, not exactly sure if he wanted to get up now. Wintergreen's head however looked back at the clock on his desktop. The hour and minute hand showed it was already twelve-thirty to the elderly man.

Much too late a time to be in bed.

The butler stood up from his bed, swaying a few seconds before getting his footing. He then took a few slow steps across the room, over to the wicker chair. He couldn't hear any sounds from the infant at first, still in the basket. But after a few moments of listening, he could make out the softest of breaths being made. He smiled at the peaceful sight of the sleeping baby.

"No need to disturb her, of course." Wintergreen spoke to himself, already walking away from the chair. He moved over to the door quietly, and opened it with a slow turn of the knob. He closed it behind him after stepping through, letting the mechanics work as smooth as possible. Once in the hallway he began to take regular steps again, quickly making it to the stairs.

Once he reached the bottom of the stairs however, he turned around and began to walk up them. A noise was making itself heard, back from his room. He smiled again, almost laughing at the baby's cries.

"Should have known, should have known..."

He walked back down the hallway and opened his door, hearing the infant's cries at full volume. He walked over to the basket and picked up the small child, pulling her hood back down. He rocked her a bit in his arms, looking at her tear-streaked face. He sniffed the air around him, and felt her backside gently.

"That doesn't seem to be the problem at the moment." The butler said, continuing to rock her. But the baby continued to cry all the same. After a few seconds, Wintergreen turned back to his doorway and walked out with the child, making his way back down the hallway and stairs. He reached the next level of the house in just a few seconds, his dress shoes creaking on the wood.

Wintergreeen then turned and walked towards the kitchen. He put the child down on the table in the middle of the room, before going over to the cabinets. He searched for a while, noting the baby's continuing cry. He had already found one, but it was currently upstairs, and he needed to get another quickly. But where was it? He pushed a stack of dishes out of his way, only to find more cups. Come now, it couldn't be _this _hard to find a--

"Ah, _here_ it is." Wintergreen said, pulling out another bottle. He went over to the refridgerator, pulling the milk back out. The baby continued to cry, getting a little louder with each couple of seconds He poured it into the clean container, before screwing the lid back on. Wintergreen moved over to the baby and in a motion with one arm picked her up. The baby continued to cry, only stopping once the elderly man had pressed the bottle's top to her small lips. Wintergreen only looked down at the small figure in his arm, glad to see her reaction.

He looked around the room after that, still feeding the child. There wasn't really anything to do here, everything in the kitchen seemed spotless, most likely from his job the previous day. He shook his head, shifting his arms slightly, trying to figure out what exactly to do. No cleaning necessary really, it was his day off after all... or at least, was since this morning. The baby again interrupted his thoughts, only this time with slight laughter. He looked down at her, seeing she had moved the bottle away from her lips. She was smiling, staring back up at him. He nodded his head once, finally deciding on what to do.

"I suppose I should keep you entertained, correct?" The baby giggled again, clapping one of her hands against the bottle. Wintergreen smiled, and began to walk out of the kitchen.

He took almost an immediate right into the parlor, and moved to one of the large red chairs near the empty fireplace. He sat down, moving the baby to his lap. She looked up at him even as he reached over to a nearby table, and pulled over a book. He moved his arms in front of them both, keeping th book inbetween his hands. The baby stood up for a moment, before moving over a little only to plop herself back down, this time staring at the book directly in front of her. Her eyes opened wider as he flipped it open, revealing dozens of words, and even a few pictures.

"Would you like a story?" Wintergreen asked her, humoring himself. The baby smiled a little, pulling her hood back over her head. Wintergreen relaxed a little more in the chair, turning the book back a page. "I'll take that as a yes. Now then, this is the story of Martin the--"

"Wintergreen." A voice suddenly cut through the warm parlor air, right towards the pair. Wintergreen looked up, seeing his master standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. The butler continued to hold the book in front of them, staring at Slade from his seat.

"Yes sir?" he asked calmly, sitting back up as straight as possible. Slade stopped leaning on the wooden doorway, and stood up straight himself. His eye concentrated on the butler, as if trying to stare him down. Wintergreen dismissed the notion however. This was just his master, his... friend. Slade certainly did not do that sort of thing to his closest partner and confidant. It was just how Slade seemed to greet people nowadays, almost seeming to be in a menacing way. But of course, Wintergreen knew better.

So many things had happened to the man, he couldn't exactly blame him for all his choices, no matter if Wintergreen agreed with them or not.

"The child, I'd like to see it for a little." Wintergreen's grip on his book lessened only a tad. The child? His gaze swept down to the baby, who had grown just as silent as the two of them. Wintergreen almost hesitated for a moment to reply. But then... what was Slade going to do? He doubted anything menacing or "wrong", but still... No, Slade wouldn't do anything that he'd object to. Not at all.

"Yes sir, would you... require my presence as well?" Wintergreen said, putting the book back on the table and picking the child up. He stood back on his feet, and walked over to his master. Slade took the child from him gently, his hands encircling the child's body, but not in a harmful way. Wintergreen thought for a moment he heard the baby emit a small noise, just as Slade took her. But... no, nothing of the kind. Slade put his arms down, still holding the child. He looked at Wintergreen for only a few more seconds before turning away, and back to the door leading to the lair.

"No, I'll only need her for a few minutes. Don't worry, you'll get her back soon."

"Then sir, can I ask what you'll be doing with her?" Slade stopped after taking one or two steps towards the door. He spoke just as calmly as Wintergreen had earlier.

"Just trying to find who she is. We'll have to return eventually if we can, won't we?" Wintergreen tugged at his dress shirt at hearing the words. He nodded once, attempting to replicate the calmness.

"Of- of course sir."

Slade walked the rest of the way to the door, not saying another thing. Wintergreen moved back to his chair and sat down again, hearing the wooden door close behind him. He sighed after a few seconds, the echoing off the steps becoming fainter and fainter.

Send her back to her parents, if they were willing. Yes, of course. It was the only right thing to do. They might be worried sick about her at the current moment, or filled with guilt over abandoning her like they did, even if they didn't have a choice in the matter. Abandoned her...

Yes... they had done that, didn't they? Had put her in a basket and onto someone's else porch, making her someone _else's_ responsibility. Why would such parents want their children back then? To abandon them again? Wintergreen chuckled darkly. No, they probably wouldn't want her back at all, and would try to refuse every chance at getting her back.

Which really left her in their care, something that Slade would find out soon, perhaps. Wintergreen smiled, picking the book back up and opening it.

How absolutely dreadful.

**End of Chapter Seven**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alright. Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I wanted to finish it before I had to leave tomorrow night and the like, and wouldn't have much time tomorrow at any rate. Here's to you readers though, thank you for your time and all for my works. It means much.T.K. **

**Chapter Eight**

"Cyborg? Find anything yet?"

The metallic teen put his arm up, looking into the built-in screen. He kept his other arm on the wheel of his T-Car, continuing down the street straight forward. Beast Boy appeared on it after a few moments, his eyes flashing back to the one side every few seconds, just as cars sped by in the background of whatever part of the city he was in.

"Nah BB, my scanners still aren't having any luck, no matter how many times I take those directions from Light's apartment."

"Right. Robin's starting over his routes again, I think. Wants us to check back in every couple minutes."

"Gotcha', contact you once I finish this trail."

The teammate's image on his arm bleeped out as he put it back down, turning his attention to other things again. He took a turn at the corner, making his second right in what was probably the fourth route so far. Robin hadn't really specified how many they had to make, just take every possible one they could. Not like it was going to do them a lot of good...

Cyborg rolled his shoulders, adjusting how he sat in the driver's seat. Sure, he loved his car, and any reason to drive it around for hours should have been his dream-come-true. But now... with how everything was turning out; Raven being kidnapped (Or babynapped, if Cyborg wanted to get technical); no way to find her; and their only leads being more sources of trouble than answers; he just couldn't find any enjoyment in it.

_'Just another block now...' _he thought to himself, flashing his eyes at some of the houses as he passed. Most of the old parts of Jump City had been demolished in the past years, making way for apartments and other more recent places to live. It should've been easy to find an old house in this city, even with the direction Light had given them, if it still existed. Like a needle in a few straws of haye. But they couldn't, almost like the house was camouflaged or something.

_'Might as well be, at this rate.'_

"Cyborg, please come in."

Cyborg picked his arm back up, and looked into the monitor built-in. Starfire jumped into the picture. Her chin drooped a little more than usual, but then he really couldn't blame her for the reaction. All of them were worried, she just happened to hide it the least. Not like that was a bad thing anyway...

"Yeah Star, I'm here. You find something?"

"I am afraid I have not Cyborg. I have covered my routes several times, and I still cannot locate any aged house to which Doctor Light described."

"Nothing here either Star. You think Light might've lied?" A few moments of silence filled the communication link.

"He could not have! If Doctor Light lied to us than there would be no way to find--" Starfire cut herself off, and the silence continued. Cyborg shook his head to himself. Was a dumb thing to say...

"Look Star, I'm sure we'll find Raven somewhere. It's not like there's a whole bunch of old houses in the city."

"At my last count, there were two-hundred and ninety-seven." This time, it was Cyborg's turn to not respond. He steadied the wheel a little more, just coming to the end of his current route. Only that many...

"Well uhh... it's not _that_ bad. And besides, if we don't find her at the end of the week, she'll just change back, right?"

"Yes, she will. However, I am afraid of what may happen to her in the meantime." Cyborg lowered his gaze a little, stopping his car. He nodded at Starfire's words. No telling what could happen to her in that time.

"Alright Star', I'm at the end of this route. Check back in with you once I finish it."

"Very well Cyborg. I hope that you find our friend in this route."

"So do I, Cyborg out."

The monitor blipped off, Starfire's worried image disappearing from his arm. Cyborg reached over for the handle to his car-door, and turned it. He stepped out and looked towards the old house across the sidewalk. Well, only one thing to do now...

Before Cyborg could take even one step towards the house however, his communicator sounded off again. Even considering the situation and all, it was starting to get a little annoying. Couldn't ignore it though. The cybernetic teen picked his arm up for the third time in almost as many minutes, looking into the monitor.

"Cyborg, are you there?" Robin's voice. His tone sounded like it always did, calm, almost a little confident, like he knew something the others didn't. Usually did, anyway. If Robin knew anything know though, there wasn't any doubt in Cyborg's mind he'd keep it to himself. Not with a teammate's life on the line.

"I'm here Robin, about to check another house. Got something?"

"I think I may. As soon as you're done with that route, meet me in Section Seventeen. Robin, out."

_'Still keeping his cool in this situation.' _As long as Robin had his head on, Cyborg didn't have any creeping doubts about not succeeding with the rest of the team. Just something about that confidence, always spread out to him, the others. He had spent enough time around the guy to learn how to do it himself when leading others, even in the really hard fights. Good to know. Being a good leader, with tactics was one thing; but inspiring and building hope in others was another.

And right now, he knew they all needed some confidence.

"Yes, is there something you'd like?"

Cyborg looked up from his daydreaming, and found himself staring at a middle-aged woman, wearing and apron and holding a rag in her hands. He continued to look dumb at her, unable to figure out exactly what to say. After a few seconds the woman sighed and rolled her eyes, before closing the door.

"Uh, nice day to you too," The Teen finally spoke, finding his voice again. He activated a few low-range sensors with a thought, still on the front-steps. At how they were designed, scanners bigger than the ones in his body really wouldn't work out. A short, close-proximity ranged scan at this distance was the best to do. A lot less signals and false finds to get in the way. If raven was in any of the houses he used them on, he'd know.

A few seconds later a small blip made itself heard inside his head. Nope, nothing in this one either. Cyborg looked at the brown door a little while longer, before walking down the steps and getting back into his cars. It started up automatically as he touched a button on the panel next to the wheel. Might've seemed a good way to make sure the car would get stolen, but actually, it was probably safer than any key-started vehicle. Anyone could push down the button, but if it wasn't Cyborg's own finger, the car wouldn't start. He figured out how to do this easily; just use a simple "static shock" system. Not enough to hurt someone (Although that had been a good idea for an upgrade after his first car), but just enough to shock them, IF they weren't able to send it back. After a little tinkering on his right-hand index finger though, the shock was bounced back, going until it reached and triggered the car's engine.

_'Raven had actually been disappointed that I didn't make the shock more painful.' _The teen smiled at the thought, as he pushed on the car's pedal. He pulled away from the curb, letting his vehicle pick up speed before turning down at the corner.

_'We'll find you Raven, wherever you are.' _

**-S-**

Slade's metal heels echoed off the steps leading down, continuing on as the stairs gave way to a solid and glistening floor. He felt the cloth between his gloved fingers, every once and a while jiggle as the person wearing them moved suddenly. Whether to get away from him or go wherever he was headed faster, he wouldn't be able to tell. But then, he didn't exactly care. There was no way she could break his grip, making the thought meaningless.

He reached the door leading to his chambers, and placed his free hand on the wall-mounted scanner. There couldn't be any lax in security, even for himself. Any small flaw, _any, _that could be taken advantage of by the enemy wouldn't be allowed to exist. The door slid open after a second or two, and Slade walked through the open space.

"Gahh?" The room was completely dark as usual. Slade walked straight across the room, keeping his hand steady at all times. He could still feel her fidgeting, but a little less than before. He reached his throne-like chair at the end of the one side, and turned his back to it.

Stretching out his arm holding the child, he slowly placed the babe down right in front of his seat. He could see her eyes, almost hidden underneath the cloak's hood, staring up at him widely, curiously even. Slade sat down, not moving his own eye away from her.

"I trust you'll find the room's arrangements to your liking, _Raven."_

The baby continued to stare up at the man, who had taken his usual sitting-position. Arms on either resting-perch, legs spread a little bit apart from each other. Metal armor always away from the seat itself, there wasn't any need to make standing up difficult.

"Yes, it wasn't that hard to figure out. And while I am still perplexed as to how you... changed into what you now are, that really doesn't matter.

"All that does now is that you are here, under my watchful eye. I can assure you nothing will happen to you while here. No demonic fathers or light-up villains will get at you, while seeking their revenge. Complete and utter protection, just for a small price."

Slade leaned forward in his seat, keeping his eye straight at the babe, unblinking.

"I only request that you become my apprentice. At your age my training will do you more good than anything else. It's mutually-benefitting."

"Gehh..."

The villain sat back in his chair, continuing to stare as the child played with the hood over her head. She continued to tug at it, as if trying to cover her face, smiling.

She really was nothing more than a baby. And not a word he had said would have pierced her soft head at that age.

He reached over and grabbed her again by the back of her cloak. Picking her up, he brought Raven over to him, putting her on his eye-level. He watched as the babe focused on him, leaving her hood for later. Good, now that he had whatever attention she could spare...

"Tell me, you don't understand a word I'm saying, do you?" The baby kept looking forward at him, probably not knowing it was the best course right now, but more out of curiousity of being this up-close to him. He could almost see a small hand fidget upward, towards him.

"Goo,"

"Nothing." Slade said, bringing the child away. He set her down back onto the floor, moving his eye away from her for the moment. Even if this was a much more opportune chance for an apprentice currently... it certainly had it's flaws that the the others did not posess.

Slade reached over to a small console onb the side of his chair. He pressed a button, knowing each one's position and duty by memory. If he couldn't do anything immediately with the child then she might as well not be in his presence. His... training of her would have to take a slightly different course, than the one anticipated.

Still would give the same end-product however, much to his satisfaction.

**-W-**

_Ding._

Wintergreen looked up from the book and in the direction of the door. He couldn't see it of course, there was a small part of the wall seperating the entrance hall and living room in his way. But still, he did instinctively, just to respond to the noise of the door ringing.

"Coming," he said quietly, sure whoever was at the door couldn't hear him anyway. He got up from his seat, putting the book down, and walked to the door quickly. He reached for the knob and turned it, letting the door swing open to him. The person in front of him gave Wintergreen a mild feeling of surprise.

"Hope I'm not intruding," Penelope said, walking in as William moved to the side, giving her room. The butler nodded at her, offering his arm to take anything. Force of habit really, he could see she wasn't wearing anything that needed to be hung up. He then motioned for the living room, to which Lord smiled and obliged. The two strolled into the smaller place, Penelope taking a seat directly next to the doorway, and William the one across from hers. A table seperated the two, with an hourglass on it. Wintergreen watched the sand drop for a few seconds, before finally speaking.

"So Penelope, how exactly did you get back to me so soon? I was under the impression that Blood had called you back up." It felt awkward asking that question. Sure, it was good and all (Considering it had been expected from her tone that the problem would take much longer to fix), but why exactly should he be worried about that, really? All that should have mattered was the interruption and problem was over and dealt with, and they could spend the rest of the day together. Lord crossed one leg over the other, resting her folded hands on a knee.

"The problem was miniscule, just Blood overreacting as usual." Wintergreen nodded at her again.

"Ah, I see."

"And so I left after we argued over my summoning, and came back here. As far as I know, the rest of today will be free of any other intrusions, so, if you had any other plans, they'd be quite alright."

"Not really," Wintergreen said, flashing an eye over to the door leading to the stairs. "Anything you might want to do together would be good, I just have to wait a little while more, perhaps."

"For what, William? To get permission from Wilson? I thought he already gave you the whole day?"

"He did, not waiting for that from him. Just... something else that depends on his returning from his studying hall."

"Oh?"

"Wintergreen."

The butler responded to the electric voice that came seemingly from nowhere, looking to his wrist. He pulled back his one white glove, getting to the small communicator strapped to him. Lord watched him a bit strangely, never having seen him do that before. Of course though, Slade rarely contacted him through this way, so it wasn't too hard to understand why Penelope hadn't witnessed it.

"Yes sir?" The butler asked into the wrist-communicator. There wasn't any need to press a button or turn a switch, as soon as one of them spoke directly to the other (Along with saying their name, a trigger of sorts), the link between the two was in-place, and could only be shut off by another word-specific command from one or the other.

"You can come down and take back the child, I'm done with her for now."

Wintergreen raised his eyebrows at the order. Already, after barely a half-hour? Not to mention the stairs took at least a few minutes in themselves. What exactly had he wanted to do? Had he even managed to accomplish it? Rarely did Wintergreen doubt his master's ability, but considering what it involved...

Nevertheless, it was an order and he was obliged to do it. Not exactly like he wanted to do otherwise, however.

"Yes sir, I'll be right there sir."

The Headmistress followed William with her head as he stood up from his chair across from her. She motioned for herself to stand up as well, before Wintergreen put up his gloved hands, smiling.

"No need Penelope, I'll be just a moment. Need to tend to Master Slade's request."

"Sure I can't just accompany you to wherever that is?" Lord asked, smirking a small bit. Wintergreen titled his head to the side slightly. Not exactly like leaving her outside the master's hall would cause a problem. He trusted her enough that she wouldn't do anything to compromise security, if there was anything to actually do down there.

"Well, very well, come with me." Penelope stood up from her chair and followed Wintergreen. He moved over to the door under the staircase and opened it, allowing Lord to go in first. He followed, and again took the lead down the stairs. The twoi walked in comfortable silence, Lord looking every once and a while at the walls of the stairwell as they changed from wood to steel the farther they went down.

"This is quite a walk, wherever we're going," Lord spoke, as she counted off what must have been the fifth minute or so of the stroll. But almost as soon as she had said it Wintergreen stopped, just as both of them made contact with solid flooring rather than another step.

Wintergreen continued to walk however, until he reached the door at the end. He placed his hand on the scanner as usual and was granted entrance. He motioned for Lord to stay put, before walking into the lair.

"Wintergreen, take her and tend. I'm done for now." Wintergreen nodded at his master's commands, though thinking them a little early when coincided with his entrance timing. Regardless, he walked over to where Slade sat and picked the baby up from in front of him. Still facing his master, Wintergreen spoke;

"Evening tea as usual, sir?"

"Of course."

The butler turned abruptly after getting his answer and walked away, carrying the small child in his arms. He quickly reached the doors, letting them close behind him, before turning to his aqquaintance, who had her eyes on the child more than him.

"What was she doing with him?" Lord asked, her curiosity (Sounding more like concern at the moment) getting the better of her.

"Master Slade was just getting to know his new houseguest a little better, that's all." He could tell she wasn't satisfied completely by the answer, but then again, he wasn't exactly going to say any more on the subject. Besides, there wasn't exactly much else he did know of why his master had wanted to see her, other than to find out who she was. He continued forward however, and Lord followed behind him, hands behind her back.

"Are you sure there is no other way up from Slade's study halls?" She asked again, not following him as he began to trek back up the stairs. Wintergreen stopped, turning back towards her. He shook his head, and even without a grin or smile of his own Lord could tell he was a bit amused by the question.

"Sorry to say, but no. The Master requested there only be one main entrance, and it not depend on electricity or another fallible device."

**-W-**

The trio emerged from the staircase a few minutes later, and made their way back over to the living room. Wintergreen sat down, after handing the child over to Lord. He gave her the book he had been planning on reading to the babe, Penelope taking it and placing it to the side as she placed the baby onto her lap. The child giggled appreciatively as Lord shifted her legs little by little, moving the cloak and leotard-clad babe around gently. Wintergreen smiled at the sight, before letting himself go back into the chair, his posture slouching in the only person's presence who he'd let it slip in.

And then the doorbell rang.

"I'll be getting that." Wintergreen said, though there was a bit of reluctance in doing so. He stood up, and made his way over to the door in front of the house. The Headmistress stayed seated, giving more attention to the child than whoever was at the door. Wintergreen gently grasped the knob in his gloved hand, and turned it, before pulling the door inward.

"And who might this be paying an unexpected visit?" he asked shortly, though maintaining his politeness with the teen. He could already tell from the red and green outfit, along with mask and short cape who it was (Not to mention the rest of the team, minus one member, was standing behind the boy).

_Robin_, hero of the Teen Titans, and foe to his master.

**End of Chapter Eight**

**Comments, critiques, always appreciated. Many thanks. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Baby Blues**

**Chapter Nine**

Wintergreen stood with his hands in front of himself, waiting for the teen hero's response.

"Hello, I'm Robin of the Teen Titans. We're looking for a baby that someone reported missing recently, and was last seen in what they said was 'an old house'. We were wondering if you had any information on the child."

Wintergreen kept still, listening to the question. It seemed accusing in tone (not to mention plain silly with its directness), what with the circumstances and all, but he maintained an air of goodwill and genuine concern for the teen's request.

"Apologies, but I haven't seen any such thing here. I live just with the sir to whom I tend to, and that doesn't allow for children of any kind, especially those that aren't mine."

Robin nodded at the response, keeping his posture.

"Thanks for your help anyway, then. If you see anything that you think might relate to this case, don't hesitate to call the city for us."

Wintergreen curtly bowed to the teen, tucking his arm beneath him. He then moved back, and closed the door between them. Turning around, he moved over to the living room, and back towards his chair. Penelope looked up at him, keeping the babe against her body so that it could look out towards the room. Her cheery expression had changed into a serious one.

"I could tell by the voice who that was, William." Wintergreen nodded a little more slowly than usual, before taking his own seat. He looked over at the child, who was not one bit knowing of what was probably happening for the better. She turned her small head over to the books that the butler had 'offered' to read to her earlier. Tender hands outstretched, unable to get them but making the intention known. William picked up the book he had had earlier and gave it to Penelope, who opened it in front of the baby.

"It does seem that this child is a little more special than we first thought. Perhaps others know more about it than us, including those teenagers."

"Sebastian _did_ seem to hold an idea of that sort." Penelope added, turning a page for the babe. Wintergreen sat back in his chair, going for another book off the side table. Three different people or groups, one his own master, seemed to have their sight on the child. Holding onto her could soon develop into a risk for the both of them. And a risk to him would become a risk for his master, if his own hidden desires didn't cause conflict with the other two blocks.

But giving the child away probably wouldn't solve this problem that was beginning to surface, could it? If anything, one of the others would take her, and there'd still be conflict. Not to mention that the thought of the babe being given away as some sort of object for others to fight over was not one that appealed to Wintergreen in the slightest. No, doing something like that wouldn't solve anything really, just get the small thing from causing problems for them.

William looked over at the small babe, gleefully looking at the words and not understanding a single one. He smiled a tad. There was no reason for him to give up the child, potential problems or not. She was happy here, and there was no doubt that the others who wanted her, even his own master, did not have their biggest concern for her being happiness. Even the Teen Titans, he added. There was a very slim chance that the child had anything to do with them, 'teen' or not, and it was more likely they were under the contract of someone to search. They dealt with the external threats to the city, not the internal, anyway.

Although...

Wintergreen looked around the room suddenly, eyes darting from one wall to the other. No, couldn't be...

"Something the matter, William?" Penelope asked, noticing his sudden glances.

"No no, just a funny thought of mine."

"Oh, and what was it of?"

Wintergreen stood up from his chair, and looked at the pair still seated.

"I had the strange thought that the blue-cloaked teen of that hero group might have been in this house somewhere, this very room even, trying to spy or something. She wasn't outside with the others, you know.

"Tea?"

**-T-**

"Guy's not telling the truth, Robin. Got two other vital scans in the house with him, one of them pointing toward's Raven's. She's in there."

"Then we shall bring her out here." Starfire responded, slamming one hand into another. Robin motioned for her to stop however, staring at the other Titans.

"You're sure, Cyborg?"

"Positive. Definitely Raven's vitals in that house."

"So now shall we--"

"We can't, at least not yet."

"What gives man? We know Raven's in there. That old creepy guy's got her, so we just bust in and take her!"

"In broad daylight, without any evidence to back up our claims? If Doctor Light was telling the truth and just left her on the porch, then the guy and whoever is in the house with him and Raven haven't committed any crimes. We can't just go in and take her back."

"Then what can we do?" Starfire asked, taking Robin's arm in her hands. Her grip wasn't tight, or in an attempt to force Robin to do something. the Boy Wonder could tell it was more for her than him. He placed his own hands over Starfire's, looking into her gaze.

"We'll do whatever we can for her, but nothing that could endanger her, or make the law side with them. We know where she is at least, and it's easy to say she's not going to change locations again. But just in case..."

Robin turned to look at Beast Boy, who was saying something to Cyborg that the other two couldn't hear.

"I'm going to need you to stay here and keep an eye on Raven. Think you're up to it?"

Beast Boy immediately turned towards his team leader and snapped into a mock-military salute. Robin knew he should've been annoyed considering the situation, but he couldn't help grinning just a little.

"You can count on me, sir!"

"Good. The rest of us will get back to the tower, and see what we can do in this situation. I don't really think two old people are going to influence Raven that much, so we shouldn't be too worried."

"Yeah, they might actually make a her a little nicer!" The other turned to Beast Boy at his comment, making him shrink away from them a little.

"We've still got a couple days before the spell wears off, and now that we know where Raven is, we can just work on getting her back.

"Let's get to work."

**-T-**

"You can't be serious. That little dirt-sniffer can't be--"

"They definitely look similar though. Same cape, skin color..."

"But one of them's a baby, and the other isn't!"

"Yeah well, Mammoth, not like that gal doesn't do her magic thing. Could've done some sort of spell or somethin', caused her to change into a baby." See-More retorted, sitting back on the couch. The others were around him, watching the blow-up screen projected from his headset. Kyd Wykkyd and Angel Girl sat detached, not seeming to pay much attention to the pictures of the child the others had seen earlier. Gizmo was grumbling to himself as usual, muttering how illogical or just plan stupid the idea was. Mammoth and Private Hive were half-heartedly arguing, not sure whether or not to put more energy into the fight. Billy Numerous (or rather, the four of them) was going over the money their last heist had pulled in for them.

"Hey, keep it down guys, we're trying to figure out the totals!" Gizmo turned around and looked at the four Numerouses with their seperate piles of cash, and sneered.

"Can't you just transfer your amounts to each others... your own mind or something? You are the same person, right?"

"Nah little buddy, doesn't work that way."

"Yeah, we gotta' do it this way, 'cause if we go back into one guy, we'll have to start all over."

Gizmo turned back around on the couch, his grumbling starting back up.

"Lousy dumb-heads..." See-More sat up from his own seat, ignoring all the other bickering and mutterings. Maybe the others didn't see what was so important here, but he did.

"Listen guys. I don't know about you, but two robberies in the same day, and the Titans not showing up to either of them? Something seems up with that."

Private Hive looked over from Mammoth, shrugging.

"Maybe they were off-duty." See-More though shook his head at that.

"Nah, those guys don't take off just whenever. They always stopped us in the past.

"But see, here's the more interesting part. The Titans don't show up to two robberies, and a baby that looks _just like_ one of them does, in the arms of the Headmistress?" This time Mammoth shrugged, though he looked a bit more interesting.

"Yeah, so?"

"Listen again. Two robberies; Titans don't show up. Then, a baby shows up that looks just like one of them. Don't you think if that baby _is_ that 'Raven' of them that they might be involved with it, and that's the reason that they weren't coming to stop us?"

The others, including Kyd Wykkyd and Angel Girl, all leaned in more. See-More smiled.

"So then they might be trying to get that baby, that means they're not watching the city at all?"

"Yep."

"Sweet roller! Look at all those... eh, what did they call them again?"

"I think it was something like El Presidente."

"Nah guys, just Chancellor."

"Nuh-uh!"

The others on the couch turned around to the brewing fight between the Billy Numerouses, who had just finished counting up all the money the Hive Five had managed to steal. See-More leaned back a little more in his seat, still smiling. They'd gotten the important part now, and all that was left was to have them get the rest. Eventually, after the Numerouses had calmed down and decided on "Prime Minister", the others returned their attention to him.

"So, what you're saying is, with the Titans running around, probably trying to find that bottle-sucker, we got free rein on the city?" Gizmo asked, already beginning to smirk himself. The others began to pipe in their own voices.

"Ah yeah, we can finally rob that candy store, and get all that they have without that green punk coming in and stopping us!"

"And I can burst into the sportings good store and take all of their military-grade gear!"

Kyd Wykkyd and Angel Girl looked at each other, and nodded. See-More sat up once more in his chair, putting his hands up to the others.

"Well yeah, we can do all that. But I think there's something even more important that we should worry about. If the Titans are so worried about this kid that they aren't going to stop some crimes from happening, then maybe that kid's more important than all of that stuff."

"So if we steal the kid... we can steal all of that stuff, and not have to stop when the Titans do get her back!" Private Hive said, looking at the all the others and spreading his grin around. See-More turned off his headset and replaced the current seeing piece with his regular eye.

"Yep."

**-T-**

_Tck-tck-tck-tck-tck_

The sound of the sewing machine made itself heard over all the other noises in the room. Wintergreen sat over the machine, carefully putting in the last stitch on the clothing he was making. Slade had wanted this done, partly out of the child's cleanseliness in having something new to wear, and partly out of the need to better identify the child with himself. The butler made no objections to it himself, being that this was the master's house, and there was no sign of any abuse or other misdeed to the child after her "sessions" with Slade. Indeed, there wasn't much to teach or help the child with learning at such a young age. Perhaps a few elementary things, beginning to count and the like, but other than that, Wintergreen doubted his master would be so foolish as to try to teach the child something she couldn't even begin to comprehend yet. But...

_Rwwrrrrr_

Wintergreen would have preferred to have the child's education, if any, in his hands. He trusted his master wouldn't try to do anything harmful, he knew him better than anyone at all, including his former partner. He would do many things to achieve his goals, even actions Wintergreen himself wouldn't think highly of. Slade would take care of the child in the time he spent with her though, perhaps try to get her to know him, become familiar around him more. It would be foolish of him to think that Slade wouldn't have some part in the upbringing of the child, so this was only something to be expected and have to be done, sooner or later. Still...

_Tck-tck-tck-tck-tck-rwrrr..._

"There, that's done." Wintergreen said to himself. He took the uniform out of the machine, and turned the contraption off. A few hours work, some sweat, and the materials needed (That he had to go out and shop for, since they weren't exactly things most people would have around the household), but it was finished. He stood up and held it in front of him. "Perfect, I'm sure Master Slade will be quiet happy with this."

A small, comfortable yet-fitting black leotard that could be entered through the neck. Along with it was an orange cloak, same length and texture as the blue one the babe had been wearing the past several days with them. Only one principle difference however.

On the top of the cloak there was an embellished _S _in black. Wintergreen thought it went rather well with the rest of the outfit, not standing out, but definitely making well-known its presence.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. Wintergreen had not been expecting for the past several days, though with the strange events going on around him and his master, it wasn't too big of a surprise. He went to the window in the sewing room first however, which overlooked the door. He stared down, and found Lord waiting at the door. The woman looked up and saw Wintergreen peering from above, and waved to him, smiling. Wintergreen nodded and motioned for a second or two. He disappeared from the window sill, putting the uniform on the chair next to the sewing machine's desk, and quickly walked down the stairs to the entrance. He grabbed the knob and turned it, opening the door for the awaiting lady.

"Penelope, what a pleasant surprise. I wouldn't think you would've had another day-off so soon!"

"Oh, well it appears that Sebastian has cancelled school for the day for his own reasons, and who am I to argue?" The Headmistress smiled a little, tilting her head. "Do you have time for my company?"

"Of course."

**End of Chapter Nine**

** Been a while, eh? Sorry 'bout that, been busy. **


	10. Chapter 10

**The final 2ish chapters. Enjoy. **

**Baby Blues Chapter X**

"When we get to the house, make sure you're ready."

"Roger."

"Understood, Robin."

Robin flew past dozens of cars on the streets of Jump City, keeping his bike's speed dangerously high. He had half-a-mind to slow down, but with the situation as it was now, there wasn't any time to do it. The week was up, and according to Beast Boy's last report, it couldn't have ended at a worse time.

_'Come on, we have to get there, we can't let anything happen to her.'_ The cars up ahead were beginning to slow down, as a traffic light hanging above the nearest intersection flickered from green to yellow, then red. Robin's eyebrows furrowed as he went right inbetween rows of cars, trying to continue forward. He could see the path ahead narrowing though, next-to impossible to slide through.

Thinking quick, he turned his R-Cycle and drove straight into an alley, barely avoiding a car pulling up right where he had been seconds before. He could hear yelling behind him, his fast manuever still giving the drivers enough time to catch a glimpse of him. Robin ignored them though, he was on a mission, and a little dissatisfied public opinion could wait till later.

The front of his R-Cycle smashed through the wooden barricade that seperated the alley in-half. He kept driving, before turning again and getting onto a main street. A few people on the sidewalk jumped back as he zoomed out and down onto the street beside them, intent on getting out of the way of whatever it was. Robin looked over at his onboard map, making sure he was on the right path.

_'Just a few more seconds.'_

He soon pulled up to the old house, remarkably attracting few onlookers with his presence. Starfire arrived soon after, landing beside him. Cyborg a few moments later, getting out of his T-Car and slamming the door shut. The three quickly approached the front door of the place. Robin raised his hand and rapped on its surface. They waited.

Nothing.

"Starfire." Robin said out of the corner of his mouth. The Tamaranean girl nodded, and her eyes glowed. She tightened her fist.

The wooden door flew off its hinges and slammed into another across the hallway. Starfire floated back to the ground, lowering her arm. Robin and Cyborg ran in, Birdarang and Sonic Cannon at the ready. They looked around the now-dirty place, the dust still settling.

"No sign of them on this floor, or the one above it. I'm guessing the door Beast Boy said they went into goes down." Cyborg commented, looking at one of his several devices on his left forearm. Robin nodded, taking a look into the room off to the left. The fireplace was still going, and a book or two were open, as if the people here had been reading and left before finishing. Starfire explored the kitchen just a tad, before reporting back and saying nothing was of suspicion there.

Beast Boy suddenly re-morphed at their side, rubbing his head. He pointed with his free hand to the door on the right side of the hallway.

"They went down... that one." he said, grimacing.

"Beast Boy, you alright, man?" Cyborg asked. Beast Boy nodded.

"Yeah, but that door has some sort of weird electro-whatzitit's guard thingie on it! When I went to touch it and follow those guys with Raven, I got electrocuted!"

"We'll have to be more careful around it then." Robin said, looking over at the door Beast Boy was referring to. He couldn't see anything that looked suspicious on its surface, or around its edges. He doubted Beast Boy had just gotten shock from static cling though. "Cyborg, Starfire, one of you fire at the door."

Simultaneous green and blue blasts of energy collided with the door, blowing it to pieces. Robin saw sparks fly out from where the top of the frame was, and noticed a small, ripped cord attached. Beast Boy was right, some sort of security feature. But why on this door, and not the entrance?

"Come on, Robin!" Robin snapped out of his thinking as Cyborg called to him. The others had already begun to go into the room, and descend down the stairs beyond. Robin followed them, quickly catching up to Cyborg.

"Any scans showing we're close to Raven?" he asked, matching Cyborg's stride down the constantly shifting staircase. Cyborg looked at his arm again, and nodded.

"Yeah, she seems to be below us, so as long as we follow this staircase, we should get to her."

"_If_ we get down the staircase; it's like they go on forever!" Beast Boy howled, just as the group turned another bend. The others had to agree with him. They'd already been running for a few minutes, and didn't seem to be an closer to getting finished than when they had started their descent. It was easy to tell they were getting deeper and deeper underground with each row of stairs though. The thought of being under more and more Earth didn't give Robin any comfort; there was too much... familiarity in it. The thought wasn't helped at all when Robin wondered why an old man would have such an elaborate "basement" in his house, or when he noticed the wooden panels making up the walls had become steel. He hoped this didn't mean what he thought it did.

The Titans finally descended the last of the stairs, and reached another hallway. They ran through it, getting to the steel and iron-banded door at the end. Robin looked over at the control panel next to the gate. Definitely something you didn't see everyday. His suspicions increased in volume, and he could see the others were thinking along the same lines.

"I definitely don't like where this is headed." Cyborg murmured, pulling out his sonic cannon and aiming at the door. Robin took a step back, getting out of the way. Cyborg fired, the blast hitting the door and disappaiting without leaving a mark. The large teen put down his weapon, staring blankly. Starfire moved over and threw several starbolts, gaining the same result with her attack.

"Dudes, outta' the way!" The three teens skirted to the side just as a green rhino charged past them, smashing into the wall. The barrier went flying off its hinges, and smashed into the floor of the next room. The four went racing into the room after it.

"Man, why's it so dark in here?" Beast Boy asked, morphing back. He was right, the entire room was pitch-black, the only light coming from the hallway outside. The door had disappeared from their view, somewhere further in. Robin looked around as he withdrew a bo staff, the sinking feeling in him coming to a head.

"Guys, be ready for anything."

"Gotcha'."

"Yes."

Complete silence followed. Robin had half expected a snide response from somewhere in the room. There was no doubt left anymore. Whoever owned this house, whoever had Raven, definitely worked for him, for--

"Slade!" Robin shouted. Lights had immediately sprung up across the chamber, illuminating the other side. The Titans' archfoe sat casually in his throne of a chair, staring at them in a detached manner.

"Robin," Slade said idly back. "I was wondering when you'd show up. I must say though, taking a full week to put the few pieces together did lower my opinion of your intellect."

Robin ignored the insult and looked with the most determined gaze he could muster. "Where's Raven?"

"That doesn't matter right now, all that does is--"

"You wanna' make a bet?" Cyborg interrupted the man, setting his sonic cannon to its highest setting. Starfire aimed alongside Cyborg at the enemy, though neither of them attacked. They were in his territory right now; he had someone important to them; they couldn't take any risks. Slade tilted his head forward.

"I know you won't attack, so you might as well put those away."

"What do you want with her?" Beast Boy shouted out, unexpectedly. He hadn't taken an animal shape yet, but the other Titans knew that he was just as ready to attack Slade as they were, even if he didn't morph.

"What do I want? I would think by now you'd catch on to my goals." Robin felt the bo staff slip in his hands for second, before grasping it more firmly than before.

"You want Raven for... an apprentice?"

"Precisely, Robin. A mind that I can mold before it can even control its own thoughts. A legacy completely loyal to my goals, honed by years of training."

"Uhh, you do know that Raven's gonna'--" Beast Boy's next line was interrupted by an swift elbow to his midsection by Beast Boy. The Green changeling looked at his leader through the pain. "Dude, why'd you--" Robin interrupted him again, this time in whisper loud enough that all the Titans could hear.

"He doesn't know Raven will transform back today, Beast Boy; he's not planning for it! We just need to hold off until Raven changes back, and then can get out!"

"You know," Slade spoke up again, catching the Titans attention. "I don't exactly remember inviting you here, and being that you no longer fit into my plans, I am afraid you are going to have to leave."

"Not without Raven." Cyborg retorted, keeping his cannon steadily aimed at Slade. The villain stood still for a few moments, then, moved his arms out from behind him. Robin could see his body going tense, readying himself.

"If you won't leave voluntarily, I suppose then I'll have to show you--"

An explosion suddenly rocked the complex, throwing all of the combatants into disarray. The Titans protected their faces against the dust and small debris flying towards them, as they tried to gather themselves. They could barely make out Slade still across from them, facing their right from where the sound had originated.

"I didn't know you had invited more of your... friends, Robin." Slade said, turning his head back towards the Titans. Robin looked at the others, the dust clearing enough for him to remove his hand from his face.

"Did you guys call in any Honoraries?" The others shook their heads in response, prompting him to speculate. He knew they'd discussed the idea beforehand, but had decided against it. No one was close enough or available to help (And it'd take too long to explain the situation). So who was this?

"Uhh, that isn't who I think it is, is it?" Robin nodded grimly towards Cyborg as enough of the dust had disappaited so whoever was behind it could be seen. Seven figures stood across from them, right in front of the large hole they had moments before blown into existance. They couldn't be here, especially not now.

The _Hive Five._

"Hey! What are you guys doing here!" Beast Boy shouted over, hands to his mouth.

Gizmo sneered at the yell. "Same thing you're here for, peas-for-brain."

"Wait, you guys want Raven too?" Cyborg said.

"That's right man, she's our ticket to doing whatever we want in this city, without you stopping us!" See-More yelled, smirking. The Titans stared at the other teens, realizing they had no more of a clue than Slade. Robin motioned for Cyborg, pointing at his wrist. The metallic teen soon got the hint and looked at his wrist.

"About a half-hour more." Robin let a smile grow on his face, getting into a fighting position. Good, not much longer then. Slade noticed the Titans readying themselves again, and called out to them.

"I see you're happy Robin. But if you think that you'll be able to get Raven away from me thanks to their intervention, you're sadly--"

"Ah, put a pipe in it, pumpkin-head!" Gizmo yelled, interrupting Slade. Silence filled the chamber, with all the stares moving over to the mechanized midget. Slade motioned to the Titans with his index finger.

"Excuse me for a moment."

Slade punctuated the comment by immediately jumping into the air, disappearing among the dark spaces and beams above head. The Hive Five began to spin around, trying to find a glimpse of the masked villain.

"Hey, where'd he- AUHH!" Gizmo jumped back as Slade landed in front of him. He reared back with a gloved hand, then threw it forward, catching the bald child in the stomach. Gizmo flew back at the hit, his spider-pack smashing into the wall behind him. The other Hive Five members took a few seconds to collect themselves, still staring forward at the villain.

"I'll give you one chance. Leave now, or prepare to be destroyed."

No response, the Hive Five were still in shock at Slade's lightning-fast moves. Billy Numerous finally gathered himself up, and pointed at the man.

"Hive Five, attack 'im now!"

Slade jumped up into a back flip away as Private Hive and Mammoth came at him from opposite sides. The two bulky teens collided into each other, stumbling back. Slade landed on his feet, and delivered a devastating kick to one of the Billy Numerous, throwing him into the others. He looked around, trying to find the other delinquents.

Angel Girl suddenly appeared behind him, coming out of one of Kyd Wykkyd's portals. Slade turned on his heels and backhanded the teen, sending her reeling and into Kyd, the two falling to the ground. Slade then looked over at the last standing Hive Five member, who's bulbous eye flashed into an exclamation point upon being seen.

"Uhhh, you wouldn't really hit someone with one eye, would you?" See-More asked, beginning to back away. Slade said nothing and charged at the teen, who panicked.

"Now now, no need to be hasty."

A figure suddenly jumped in between the cowering See-More and Slade, blocking the thunderous punch aimed for the young villain with a swift movement of his right arm. Slade pulled back from the interruption, staring along with the Titans at the new interloper.

"Sebastian." Slade said dryly, readying himself for his new opponent. The Hive Headmaster, in full blood-red regalia, cybernetic parts flashing as thoughts surged through his mind. The man grinned at his enemy.

"Slade."

The two villains spared no more time and immediately ran at each other. The Titans simply looked on as the two traded and avoided blow after blow, jumping up even after a hit that seemed sure to lay them out for hours.

"Dude..."

"This is our chance," Robin started, pulling himself away from the brawl and turning to his teammates. "We need to find Raven, now!"

"Fat chance, traffic light wonder!" The four Titans swung around to the voice behind them. Gizmo and the rest of the Hive Five were there, all grinning as smug as their former teacher had. "The Hive Five's _still _gonna' get Raven, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

**-W-**

"Oh dear." Wintergreen said, watching the growing conflict from the safe-room. Truthfully, it was more of a small room that connected to the hallways leading to his master's layer proper. Gray cement flooring and steel siding matched the rest of the place, with a small table up against the wall and one-way mirror that looked out to the master chamber. It was one of the few oddities in the whole household, without an exact purpose other than, really what it was being used for now, though Wintergreen could never imagine his master using it so. Penelope was standing beside him, hands on the table in front of them, seemingly irate at the newest person's entrance.

"What's he doing here!" The Headmistress shouted. She reached behind her ear and pulled out a small mechanical device. Wintergreen saw as she tossed it onto the ground and angrily crushed it with her heel. "Probably monitored where I was through that and followed me here."

"If it's any consolation," Wintergreen began, "I'm quite sure he won't get what he's here for."

Penelope looked over at the small child across the room from them. She was sleeping peacefully, oblivious to anything occurring just a door away. If it wasn't for the sound-dampeners in the wall, no doubt the child would be crying at all the noise from the fight. Penelope and William couldn't help but smile despite the dire situation just a wall beyond them.

Suddenly, the infant awoke, her eyes opening quickly. She opened her mouth for a second, making an involuntary yawn or two before starting to tear up. Penelope went over to pick her up, the crying starting in earnest.

"Do you think we should move her farther back in the complex?" The Hive Headmistress asked. Wintergreen shook his head, arms folded in front oh him.

"No, I'm afraid Master Slade wouldn't approve of that, even if the racket outside is starting is disturbing her."

Penelope tried to soothe the babe in her arms. The small child's crying got no less fervent with her attempts, in fact only picking up in ferocity. Penelope moved the child so she could look at her more fully.

"She doesn't need to be changed, William, what could be the problem?"

"I'm not sure. It's possible she's caught something, though." Penelope felt the child's head at Wintergreen's discretion. She shook hers.

"No, her temperature's fine." The Headmistress said. She put the child back to her body, rocking it gently. It wasn't working. Wintergreen moved over to the other door leading out the room, and into the rest of the complex.

"I'll try to find something for her to eat in the spare pantry. Shouldn't be too long."

**-W-**

"Arghh!" Robin ducked as the small green midget flew overhead, his backpack malfunctioning. He looked over to Cyborg, who gave him a thumbs up as his hand changed back from a sonic cannon. Robin nodded, looking around to make sure none of the other Five Hive were planning to get him from behind.

_'We've only got fifteen minutes before Raven changes back.' _Robin made a mental note, keeping track of the time left while the fight progressed. The Hive Five was giving them a harder time than usual. Of course, they had their full team here; the Titans were minus a member.

"Robin, watch out!" The Boy Wonder was already aware of the danger before Beast Boy's warning came through. He ducked and rolled, Kyd Wykkyd's energy claw coming up just short of grabbing him. Robin stopped and turned on his knees, launching a birdarang at the opposing teen. Wykkyd disappeared back into his portal as soon as he had appeared. Robin waited for some sign of him popping up again, weapons ready once more.

It didn't come. Robin saw Wykkyd pop out behind Starfire, who was already preoccupied with fighting off Mammoth. Robin launched his birdarang without any hesitation, letting the winged gadget fly as unnoticed as he could. The portal-jumper almost took the hit, hearing the whizzing sound from the projectile at the last second. The Hive Five member threw up his hand, a portal sucking up the weapon. Robin jumped to the side before the birdarang shot back out at him. He'd already seen that happen more than once in this battle.

He was the most problematic member of the Hive Five. With Raven here they could've countered his control over dimensions. As it was, they had to avoid him as much as possible. It wasn't easy though, considering how much the rest of the Hive Five members were using him in team moves against the Titans.

Robin snapped out of his contemplation as Angel Girl came from behind. He jumped off the ground and behind the villainess, just as she clapped her giant wings together. Extending his bo staff, the Boy Wonder took a swing at her, hitting the foe in her side. With an "oof!" the girl stumbled to her side. She stayed on her feet however, and her left wing suddenly slapped back at the Titans' leader. Robin tried to block with his bo staff, but too late. He went skidding back on the floor, bo staff flying from his grasp. The Hive Five member followed after him. Robin rolled to the side just before her wings slammed the ground in front of her. She retracted them and stared at the Boy Wonder as he got up annoyed, as if she had expected him to just stay there and be hit.

"Not going to be that easy." Robin growled. He reached for his utility belt and pulled out a small disk. He threw it towards the foe, who instinctively protected herself with her wings. The explosion went short just a foot or two away from her, as the Titans' leader had intended for. The small explosion rocked the girl out of the sky and onto the floor. Robin stood back up as the Hive Five member struggled to stir. He immediately turned his attention to anther Hive Fiver, satisfied that Angel Girl wouldn't attack again.

"Cyborg, duck!" Cyborg did just as Robin shouted, letting a birdarang pass over his head and hit Private Hive's shield. The soldier stood dumbfounded at the embedded projectile.

"Now what in the heck did you do that for, just had this shield pol--" The birdarang exploded after a second of ticking, launching Private Hive from his spot.

"Yeah! Three down, four more to go!" Cyborg yelled, looking for a new target. Robin grinned in spite of knowing they now had only about ten more minutes before Raven changed back. Provided they could take down Kyd Wykkyd (who was busy leading Beast Boy in circles), the rest of the Hive Five would be easy.

And Slade was too preoccupied to give them much notice, either.

**-S-**

Slade caught a fist aimed for his face, gripping it in his right hand.

"This must be disappointing for you, Sebastian. Even with all those enhancements you still can't defeat me."

Brother Blood let out a roar and shot forward with the other arm. Slade let go and jumped back, the punch missing by a mile. He was enjoying the fight so far, Brother Blood hadn't managed to land a single blow on him. Of course, reversely neither had he, but countering everything Blood did seemed to get him much angrier than pummeling him would.

"I've come here for my student and I don't intend to leave without her!" Blood shouted, running at Slade.

"I'm afraid you'll have to postpone her enrollment indefinitely." Slade taunted, stooping low and kicking the legs out from under Blood. Sebastian landed with his hands and pushed himself away before Slade could do more. This time though, Slade decided to chase after Blood. He broke out into a run, just as Brother Blood was standing back upright. He launched a punch aiming for Blood's chest plate. The schoolmaster though, just as Slade had been doing to him, caught the punch with precision. Blood then aimed his elbow for Slade's lower right arm, intent on breaking something. Slade blocked the attempt with his other hand. The two combatants stood facing one another, intent on forcing the other to try to break first.

A loud pitched cry suddenly broke into the two's fight. They stayed staring at one another, though they couldn't help but let the question sink onto their faces.

"That wouldn't be my- ugh -student, would it?" Blood asked through a grunt.

"She's not your student." Slade retorted. Brother Blood looked ready to break the deathgirp and try to follow up with an attack for the comment, but an explosion suddenly rocked the complex. All of the fighters looked up from their bouts (Including the two adults), and over to where it had taken place.

A hole was firmly blasted behind what had been Slade's throne-chair. A figure floated out from it, draped in a black leotard. Her face showed nothing but lividness. She turned to the two arch villains of the Titans first.

"You." Raven spoke quietly, menacingly. Slade had no chance for a response, before he was flung into the wall, encased in obsidian energy. Instead of falling into the ground, he kept being pushed through the concrete, negative energy taking some of the brunt.

With a sweep of her hand the rest of the villains in the room went flying. Kyd Wykkyd tried to appear beneath the empath, but a well-placed stomp pushed him back into his portal, stunned. Raven turned to the other Titans, still standing in awe at her presence.

"We leave. Now." Was all she said. The Titans nodded glumly, before feeling the the negative energy of their friend enshroud them and whisk them off to another place.

**-W-**

Wintergreen slowly emerged from the hole the babe- no, not babe anymore - had made. The people in the other room were still gathering themselves up as he made his way over to his master, who was just crawling out of his own hole, tattered and bruised.

"Sir, what is that you would to--"

"The compound has been compromised," his master stated the obvious, but Wintergreen felt no compunction to point it out. "Destroy any files we still have here in the back, and pull out to the escape hatches. You'll hire a courier if you wish to retain any personables from your room upstairs."

"Yes sir, very good sir." Wintergreen said briskly, the tone out-of-place in the scene all around them. He turned as a figure made his way to the two.

"Well Slade, seems like neither of us won this round." Sebastian said. It wasn't meant as a taunt, but in a way it was for the both of them. Wintergreen could see the frustration beginning to boil on his face, but he remarkably was able to keep a lid on it. He turned to the hole the departing ba- titan - had made in the complex.

"Lord! I know you were hiding with the butler back there! We're going back to the Hive!"

Wintergreen frowned at the almost telling-off of the grown woman by someone probably of the same age. He said nothing though, as Penelope exited the hole, straightening her blouse as she came. She had a frustrated look at Brother Blood as she came over to him. She said nothing though to the man she shared the villain-in-training school with.

Evidently though, Blood could tell what was annoying her so.

"We will... talk about the bugging once we return to the Hive."

"Remember Sebastian, no mind control." This time it was Slade speaking. Brother Blood grinned, cocking an eyebrow.

"Still acting as the protector of your butler's... love interest?" this comment put both Wintergreen and Lord at a discomfort. Slade said nothing, not letting the war of words escalate any further. He stood tall and at the ready; even the empathic teen's last attack had failed to put him away, or at a point where he didn't feel like covering any weakness he might have felt physically.

The show of fortitude was enough to take away Blood's hopes for a possible renewed fight. With the Hive graduates to his back, he commanded Kyd Wykkyd to whisk them away, which the teen did without a word. Wintergreen watched them go, sending a curt nod to Lord's direction. She smiled back a bit, not letting the graduated students catch it. In a moment, they were gone, leaving just Wintergreen and his master in the chamber.

"Let's get moving, there's no telling if the Titans will show up again." Slade spoke up as soon the Hive people had left, not missing a beat. "Get to the files, I'll be waiting at the escape hatches."

"Yes sir," Wintergreen said once again, taking just one last look at the now-ruined compound, taking it in for one last time. His and his master's home for the past year or so. "Very good sir."

**-T-**

"So..." Beast Boy started up, looking around at the other Titans. No one looked up at him. The four were gathered in the main lobby, sitting in quiet. Raven wasn't present, she'd gone straight to her room as soon as they'd materialized in the Tower. The other Titans had almost wanted to try to talk to her at first, but Robin had decided against it. Best to try to let her blow off any steam she had before attempting some sort of apology.

And, depending on how much she remembered from the past week, she could have a lot of steam to a monumental amount of steam.

"Perhaps we should now..." Starfire began another lead-up. Robin shook his head, something the other boys soon joined with him in doing. Starfire looked at the floor, distressed at the plight. After a while, Cyborg tried to make a reason to break the situation and go to their friend.

"It's not like Raven was really in anything bad, you know." he started. "I mean, how much trouble could she have gotten into when she was a baby?"

"She was kidnapped from us by Dr. Light, and then put in the hands of our arch-enemy, and only got out because the week ran through. We failed to save her from anything she might have had to deal with." Robin said, hands folded and in front of his face. Whatever had happened to her during the week was on their shoulders, and it was something they had to answer to Raven for.

After about another half hour of sitting there, Robin agreed with one of Starfire's proposals. All of the Titans got up from their seats, and slowly made their way over to the door leading out of the main lobby. They had to talk to Raven, try to explain for what had happened. Try to apologize, and make it up. _Somehow_.

Just as they reached the door it slid open. Raven walked in, almost making them take a step back in surprise. She looked at them with a blank stare on her face.

"Raven," Robin began. "This past week, we're--"

"Don't."

The four Titans waited nervously as Raven sighed, and started talking.

"I wasn't brainwashed or conditioned when I was a... " Raven didn't seem to want to say the word, so she just went on without saying it. "And I don't remember anything from it, so it really doesn't matter. Right now I just want to go and get something to drink.

"How about some herbal tea?!" Beast Boy and Cyborg immediately ran over to the kitchen, almost beginning to fight over making the stuff. Starfire and Robin stayed near Raven however, smiling.

"So, you are well then, Raven?" Starfire asked. Raven nodded at her, which earned her a yelp of joy and a lunging hug from the Tamaranean. Raven looked over Starfire's shoulder at Robin.

"What day is it, exactly?"

Robin racked his brain for a moment.

"Third Sunday of June." he said, before realizing how strange that sounded. He couldn't think of the exact date though, for some reason it escaped his mind at the moment. Raven nodded, before gently pushing Starfire away.

"There's... something I have to do then. I'm just going to go back to my room for a few minutes."

The other Titans looked up at Raven as she left the room. Beast Boy and Cyborg put down the cup they had been wrestling over, before turning to Robin and Starfire. The Titans' leader simply shrugged, just glad Raven was back with them and safe. He walked over to the couch and sat down on it, turning on the T.V. The others soon joined him, just as glad as he was.

**End of Chapter 10**

**Epilogue**

Wintergreen walked down the hallway in the new home his master had found. He was the only one up in the regular floors of course, his master having already started on underground workings and the like. He didn't mind it though, there wouldn't have been much he could help with as his master was settings up below the house. He passed a small three-legged table in the hallway; a phone with attached telescreen sat on it. He'd already used it to contact Penelope and talk to her about what had happened in the past few days. She seemed good enough about it, though there was a hint of disappointment in her voice. Even if the babe had been a Teen Titan in reality, she had enjoyed the time with her as much as Wintergreen had. He refused to deny he'd enjoyed just as fervently as Lord did. The girl had given them little reason to deny it, at any rate. When she'd changed back, she'd left them alone and simply floated out of the room, ripping the much too-small cloak from her neck before doing so. So, nothing other than the transformation itself had really caused them any disappointment over the whole thing.

Wintergreen looked over to the front door of the house before turning to go into the parlor. He was surprised to find a letter had been deposited through the mail slot. Curious that someone had already mailed him something (When only he, his master, and Penelope knew of his new whereabouts), he went over to pick it up. He quickly ripped open the top and pulled out, even more surprisingly, a card.

"_Happy Father's Day"_ The card read in embellished golden letters. Wintergreen was speechless for a few moments. He had no children to speak of, as he'd never met the right woman, and he didn't have any godchildren, so...

He opened the card up, and then smiled, understanding. Walking back over to the three-legged stand, he looked at the card a little bit more, before putting it down. He walked away after doing so, going back to his chores. The card laid open on the table next to the phone. The inside flap read;

"_Thanks for the past week."_

No reason to complain. At. All.

**-Fin-**

**  
Yeah, that's it. Hoped you enjoyed this story all the way through. Sorry for the delays. **


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